


Self-Satisfied Smile

by EvilPiranha



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-20 02:58:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 11
Words: 26,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1494094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilPiranha/pseuds/EvilPiranha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>High School AU. When Spock’s family is called to Earth for his father’s work, his mother encourages him to enrol in a Terran school. There he meets Jim Kirk, a mischievous hothead who never seems to stop smiling. Despite himself, Spock cannot resist the desire to know the boy behind the self-satisfied smile.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> High School AU. Have fun ;)  
> Also posted on FanFiction.net.  
> Thank you!

Spock looked up at the low-rise building that loomed over him. Stylized by open, grandiose architecture and a contemporary design of stark concrete and plate-glass. Despite its lack of intricacy, it did hold a certain minimalist appeal. The construct was to be his home for the foreseeable future, as his father was called to Earth on business. While Spock would have been content to stay at the embassy, his mother had encouraged him to enrol in a school in order to interact with his peers, as she thought it necessary for him to socialise with his human counterparts. The reasoning behind her supposed logic escaped him. However, it was a reputable school and he was aware of the close relationship it had with Starfleet, many of its graduates going on to join the academy. He had often considered enlisting in Starfleet himself; it would be the most logical path to undergo should he decide against attending the Vulcan Science Academy.

The building had a large set of double doors which were open to reveal a sleek, modern hallway, down which three people walked out to greet him and his parents. His father was a prominent figure, especially to Starfleet and the UFP. As a result of this, they were prone to special treatment and Spock was accustomed to the influence of his family name when he had visited Earth in the past.

"Good afternoon Ambassador Sarek. How do you do? I am the Principal of the school, Professor Jameson," the man indicated the woman standing to his left, "this is Madeline Carson, Head of Admissions and this is Vice Principal Thompson," he concluded, gesturing, in turn, to the man on his right. Sarek nodded his head in recognition.

"Good afternoon Professor and thank you for greeting us personally," Amanda said warmly. She shook hands with each of the people in turn, speaking their names in greeting as she did.

"Mrs Carson will take care of forms and residence for Spock, while we talk in my office," Professor Jameson explained.

"Thank you professor, that sounds lovely," Amanda smiled.

"Yes, very well. Shall we?" Professor Jameson said as he turned and led them into the school.

Spock allowed himself to trail behind the group as he heard the Principal attempt to engage his father in conversation, to no avail. His mother, however, more than made up for Sarek's rigid demeanor. She had always been exceedingly capable in social situations, knowing exactly what to say and people often warmed to her quickly. Spock had never had the same effect on people he met. Although part of the problem may be due to the fact that he thought most humans were extremely puzzling creatures, and frequently found their social complexities tiresome.

Once they had reached the Principal's office, their company parted. Amanda and Sarek entered the office with the Principal and Vice Principal, while Spock continued to follow Ms Carson as she lead him down a series of corridors.

"This is the dormitory wing of the school," she explained while she walked, "it is where we house the students and where you will sleep." Spock nodded understanding, a visual reminder that he was listening. He had noticed it was an action that humans often seemed to require whilst conducting conversations.  
As they drew nearer to the dormitories, Spock noted the considerable rise of the noise level within the corridors, as well as the increasing number of students they encountered. Boys and girls of ages similar to Spock's own milled about the corridors, gathering in groups and loitering in doorways, all talking animatedly amongst each other. Many heads turned in Spock's direction as he passed. He presumed it was because of his Vulcan appearance, or possibly it was simply the prospect of having a new classmate that provoked their curiosity.

One of the rooms exuded more noise than any other they had passed so far. The door was propped wide open and as Spock walked by he glimpsed a crowd of boys, yelling and laughing in amusement. One of the boys was swinging upside down from the top bunk of a bed. His blonde hair, which had fallen away from his forehead, was hanging towards the ground and his face held a wide smile of mirth. Spock continued forward, ruminating about the unprecedented noise level the students created, the antithesis of the detached calm found on Vulcan.

Ms Carson stopped abruptly in front of a door identical to the others that lined the hallway. She smiled warmly at Spock and cautioned him to remember the number of his dorm, lest he get lost. Spock thanked her and watched as she walked away, expertly navigating through the chaotic sea of students, screeching, laughing and throwing things of unknown origin. Spock turned back to the door and opened it.  
The room he had been assigned appeared as though it was fit for as many as four beds, although it only housed one. Pressed against the right wall lay a double bed, and opposite Spock found that he had been provided with a desk and bookshelf of his own. It appeared his bags had arrived before him and they now sat on the floor adjacent to his bed.

Spock farewelled his parents at the gates of the school, his mother insisting that he could call at any time and Spock reminding her that such action would not be necessary. After they departed, he returned to his room to unpack his belongings. He contemplated how he would find life living amongst humans. Humans, who were loud, emotion driven creatures. He presumed that the life he would lead on Earth would be of a very different tenor than that of his life on Vulcan. Having never spent a substantial amount of time away from his home planet previous to this move, Spock felt a strange sense of curiosity about what his new life might bring.

 **Monday**  
Biology  
Physics  
Advanced Mathematics  
Chemistry  
UFP Standard  
Linguistics

 **Tuesday**  
Chemistry  
Linguistics  
UFP History  
Biology  
Physics  
Advanced Mathematics

 **Wednesday**  
Interplanetary Species Study  
Biology  
Physics  
Advanced Mathematics  
Linguistics  
Chemistry

 **Thursday**  
Advanced Mathematics  
Health  
Biology  
Physics  
Chemistry  
UFP History

 **Friday**  
UFP Standard  
Chemistry  
Advanced Mathematics  
Biology  
Physics  
Health

Spock appraised his timetable and noted that his next class was Advanced Math. Seeing as he had arrived on a Saturday, Spock had had Sunday to settle into his room and prepare for upcoming classes. He had spent the majority of the day reading as he sat on his oversized windowsill. The campus was very aesthetically pleasing with vivid green stretches of grass and fascinating flora that he would appreciate studying, given the opportunity. The nature of the environment was quite opposite to Vulcan's arid plains of endless sand. Spock had found reading as he regarded the view from his window to be a relaxing exercise, akin to his meditation.

He had already attended two of his classes that day and had found both to be surprisingly stimulating intellectually. He was pleased with the advanced teachings of the school, as he had not found his lessons dull as of yet. He was satisfied with the fact that, although he was not receiving the same standard of education as he would in an institute on Vulcan, he had found that his new school was not as rudimentary as he had come to expect.

When Spock next consulted the time, he observed there were 10.2 minutes remaining before he was due to arrive at his next class. He put down his book, memorising the page number, and left his dormitory for Advanced Mathematics.

He entered the half-full room, with ample time remaining and chose to seat himself somewhat apart from the other students who had already assembled, congregating more towards the front of the room.

He waited approximately 2.7 minutes before the teacher, Ms Henderson, arrived and another 3.2 minutes in which order was installed and the class sufficiently quietened for the beginning of the lesson.

Approximately 5.6 minutes into the class, the door swung open to admit two boys. Spock recognised one as the boy he had seen hanging from the bunk-bed when he had first arrived. His appearance struck Spock as distinctly human, with sandy blonde hair and eyes of a very particular shade of blue, a hue located somewhere between cyan and azure. A careless grin was plastered to his face. The other boy was scowling behind him, his dark hair and light stubble emphasising his somewhat rugged appearance.

"James Kirk, Leonard McCoy. Late again, I see," Ms Henderson greeted them sternly, turning from the touch-screen board in front of her.

"Yeah, sorry 'bout that," the blonde replied, unabashed and offering no explanation for his tardiness.

"Well, take your seats and see me after class." She said and returned to her teachings.

"Goddammit Jim, I  _told_ you we were gonna be late," Spock heard the brunette whisper to the blonde as they proceeded down the isle of desks, his voice characterised by a distinct southern drawl.

"Relax Bones, it's fine," the blonde dismissed, opting for the desk directly behind Spock's, his companion taking the seat next to it. Not long after, Spock found the tranquillity of Advanced Mathematics broken by a weight suddenly applied to the back of his chair. Turning, Spock observed the blonde boy had the heels of his feet resting upon the back of the seat, his desk pushed to the side. For a moment Spock was shocked, although he didn't display it outwardly.

"Please remove your feet from my chair," Spock requested, calmly.

"Nah, I'm pretty comfortable, thanks," the boy replied, as if it was not  _Spock's_ chair he was reclining on. Spock was both affronted and bewildered, perhaps this was just another complex human trait. Yet all the humans that he had come into contact with previously had been respectful enough, granted louder and more outspoken than Vulcans, but not outright rude. He stared at the boy, who stared back, grin growing. Maybe the boy simply had not heard him. Spock thought this highly unlikely, but also the only understandable option.

"I said-," he began, only to be cut off.

"Spock, isn't it? Do you know the answer?" Ms Henderson questioned, catching Spock off guard, nevertheless he turned to study the board.

" _x_  = 65/129," the arrogant voice came from behind Spock, and he looked back to see the boy grinning at him.

"Kirk, take your feet of that chair and stop disrupting the class! And put your desk back, too," Ms Henderson called out, exasperated.

"Sure thing, Miss," Jim drawled audaciously, he winked at Spock before letting his feet drop to the floor heavily, one after the other. Smirk still spread wide across his face. The look of smug, self-satisfaction that he wore provoked an abnormal irritation within Spock.

Cerulean, he noted, as he turned back to his work. Cerulean was the colour of Kirk's eyes, the shade he had previously been unable to name. A curious musing to be left with after such an altercation, he thought to himself, before returning his focus to the calming equations on the PADD before him.


	2. Chapter 2

Spock soon discovered that Jim Kirk was in almost every one of his classes. His irritation only seemed to grow as his concentration was broken, on more than one occasion, by Jim's drawl that often seemed responsible for disruptions in class. The only lesson, in fact, that the boys didn't share was Linguistics and Spock had found a strange sense of relief upon walking into a class where he wouldn't be disturbed by Kirk.

The first Linguistics lesson he had was at the end of his first day. Even coupled with the nuisance that was Jim Kirk, Spock had managed to find intellectual value and stimulation from his classes and considered his new school to be surprisingly beneficial.

As he sat down in his Linguistics class at a desk towards the back left corner of the room, as was becoming customary for him, he noted that there were much fewer students in attendance of this class in comparison to the lessons he had had previously. The teacher explained to them that in the first few weeks of term the class would be spent studying Romulan dialects. They then focussed on the conjugation of verbs in the Romulan language, a subject that Spock had not previously studied in but was finding agreeable to learn.

"Hi," a voice from Spock's right called. He turned to face the person as he assumed they were addressing him. A girl with bronzed skin and a tight, sleek ponytail smiled warmly at him as she leaned over her desk. Spock assessed that she was well proportioned aesthetically and her face held a certain human beauty about it in the warmth of her open, friendly smile. She continued talking in a hushed voice once she saw that she had obtained his attention. "My name is Nyota Uhura. You're new, aren't you? I heard that we had a transfer student in from Vulcan."

"Affirmative," Spock said quietly, unsure of why this human was engaging him in conversation in the middle of the lesson.

"I studied Vulcan for two years, but I've never really been able to put it into practice. I would love if I could talk to you a bit and improve my accent. We have free time until dinner. If it's okay, I'd love to pick your brain. "

Spock pondered the human turn of phrase and internally winced over the contractions she had so casually used. However, she seemed to have a pleasant nature and Spock had to admit that he would not be averse to speaking in his native tongue once again. He nodded slightly and murmured,

"I would be willing to assist you after this lesson." She beamed at him and reseated herself firmly in her chair, where she spent the rest of the lesson in a state of total concentration on the conjugation of various Romulan verbs.

After the class concluded, Spock accompanied Nyota to a somewhat secluded location within the school grounds, where they sat under a large maple tree situated near the dormitory building.

"I like to come here to study," she explained, "It's peaceful, really nice. Sometimes it just gets too loud in there," she jerked her head toward the dorms.

"I concur," Spock agreed, as he too found the noise level within the dormitory wing intolerable at times. Although having his own room did provide a comfort that he presumed most weren't privileged with.

Spock soon discovered Nyota was very capable in the Vulcan language and had an affinity for the dialect that he had rarely seen outside native speakers. As they conversed beneath the tree, Spock also realised that he enjoyed the company of Nyota. She was an intelligent and confident person, who didn't treat Spock as most humans had previously, like an anomaly, but instead, as an equal. It was true she was fascinated by his Vulcan heritage but she didn't let that define him in her perception of him. They sat together for a long while, conversing in Vulcan about various subjects. Before long Spock noted the sunlight starting to fade and suggested that they walk to the cafeteria, where dinner would take place in a short while.

Spock, who had sat by himself the previous two days, now took up a place next to Nyota at the table where she sat with her friends. She made courteous introductions but otherwise, allowed Spock to be, without much conversation. Perhaps she had correctly deducted that he would be uncomfortable being the centre of attention amongst a group of humans.

The noise level in the cafeteria gradually rose as more students entered and took their seats. One table in particular could be heard above the rest and Spock did not need to look over to know the identity of the occupants. He had become accustomed to the loud, disruptive voice of Jim Kirk, that could usually be heard over all others. Spock's advanced Vulcan hearing was particularly sensitive to the tenor of Jim's voice and he could not pull his attention away from it, as it was akin to a fly buzzing at his ear. A rude, obnoxious fly. As a result of this, Spock heard clearly when the voice called, "Bet ya I could nail the new kid." Spock's eyebrows drew together slightly in an uncommon display of emotion, and as there were no other new additions to the student body that he knew of, he could only assume that he was the topic of the conversation. Instead of trying to tune out the group of raucous boys, Spock now focused on their voices more intently.

"What do you think you're doing, Jim?" a rough voice asked, "You're on a scholarship, remember?"

"Chill, Bones," Jim laughed back, "they won't throw out their prized student. I'm the smartest kid to pass through here in over a century. Or so my aptitude tests tell me."

"Yeah, and you never shut up about it," another voice called, sounding both annoyed and teasing.

"Oh, shut the fuck up Sulu. Now who's gonna take me up on my bet?"

"You're insane, man," called the surly voice, who Spock had come to recognise as Jim's often ignored voice of reason, Leonard McCoy.

"I'll take ye up on tha' bet. There's no way you'll get 'im for 'ere," A Scottish voice chimed in, joyously.

"You're on, Scotland!" Jim declared, and Spock could hear the laughter in his voice, even over the distance. He was still pondering what the bet could possibly entail when a large scoop of mashed potato hit him in the side of the head. The substance stuck to his face for a split second, before falling to the ground with an audible splattering sound. Spock turned his head slowly to look over at the table of friends in indignation. He saw Jim and the others practically doubled over in laughter, Jim holding a spoon between his fingers, which Spock suspected, had recently held mashed potato on it. McCoy looked grim and unimpressed and the boy James had referred to as 'Scotland' looked incredulous and as though he were suppressing laughter on principle.

Nyota looked from Spock's mashed potato smeared face to Jim, anger and disgust twisting her features. Her eyebrows were knit together and her lips pursed. She looked downright fierce, and slightly frightening. Only when she picked up a pudding cup that was full to the brim, did Spock realise her intentions.

"Nyota, please refrain, this matter does not warrant you earning a reprimand over. To knowingly inconvenience yourself would be illogical." She simply smiled at him and shrugged before bringing back her hand, loaded with the pudding cup, and threw it forward, releasing the missile as she did. The cup moved through the air in silence for the shortest amount of time before landing precisely where it was aimed; on the laughing face of James Kirk.

The expression that followed made the corners of Spock's mouth curl upward despite himself. Jim's expression was one of utter shock, his face and hair now dripping with the contents of the pudding cup. His friends around him appeared to be close to tears with laughter. Spock allowed himself a fleeting moment of satisfaction before he heard Nyota yell, " _Duck!_ "  
The call rang out across the hall and the table in front of Spock was suddenly on its side, the previous inhabitants of the chairs huddled behind it, as food began to fly.

It was all out war.

The food only stopped being flung across the room when the Vice Principal Thompson strode into the hall, one of the cafeteria staff trailing behind him. He looked furious. Food was set down by those who still had their arms in the air, ready to throw. Students began to emerge, ashen faced, from behind tables. One student even had to be extricated from where he had taken shelter behind the bins. Spock's eyes were inexplicably drawn straight to Kirk, who, although he was standing slightly off to the side, always seemed to be at the centre of things. Jim was covered from head to toe in food. His hair was flattened to his face by the pudding that Nyota had thrown and there were stains of what appeared to be the strawberry ice cream, pumpkin soup and broccoli bake that were being served for dinner that day.  
As if he felt Spock's eyes upon him, James turned his head and met his gaze. One of the boy's cerulean eyes winked at Spock, his face plastered with a ridiculous grin. His demeanour seemed the epitome of relaxed, contradictory to the feeling of fear and nervousness that pervaded the room and the assortment of food groups that he was wearing.

No one knew who started the food fight. That is of course, except for Spock, Nyota, Jim and his friends. But it was evident that none of the company wished to come forward with that information. As a result, the hall was filled with a nervous silence following the demand to know who had incited the fight from the Vice Principal.

"Well, then," he said, his voice booming outward over the hanging heads of the students. Except for Jim's, of course. Jim looked like he was utterly bored by the whole proceeding and was absently picking bits of food from his blonde hair. "If no one will come forward," Professor Thompson continued, "I will be forced to punish all of you." He stopped talking and his eyes swept over the students expectantly. After a while of strained silence, he clucked his tongue disapprovingly and shook his head. "Very well. Seeing as you have decided to take the blame as a collective, you can all report to detention together tomorrow afternoon. Also, considering our usual detention room is much too small to house all of you, you will go to the gymnasium instead. Anyone who fails to attend will be issued a detention every day for the remainder of the semester. Do I make myself clear?"

A few students nodded their heads and murmured assent. McCoy glared accusingly at Jim, who was pointedly looking in the opposite direction and pretending not to notice his friend as he scooped pudding from his ear with a napkin.

The fifty or so students who were issued with the detention trudged out of the cafeteria a short while later. Most of them were headed straight toward the shower block to wash the food from their limbs and hair. Spock, who had taken shelter behind a table for the majority of the fight, was devoid of food, save for the mashed potato that Jim had lobbed at him. Instead of opting to take a shower like so many of his cohorts, Spock returned to his room where he cleaned himself off using the small wash bowl that he kept on his bedside table for his hands. It was in that moment he found himself wishing that he had never met James Kirk.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day Spock reported to detention with the rest of the people who were present for the food fight. The gymnasium was not fitted with any chairs so students had seated themselves on the floor. Most were clumped together in groups with their friends, although Spock estimated that, as this was a punishment, they would not have much time to interact with one another. He angled himself toward a sparsely populated corner of the room, where he sat close to the wall. He heard a teacher's voice call out, informing them that the detention time was simply to be spent in silence, as there were too many people participating to have them do much else.

Spock seriously doubted whether they would have the ability to even remain quiet. From what he had garnered of Human nature, they were extremely restless and social creatures. However he was perfectly content to sit in silence. He even viewed this punishment as an opportunity to meditate. He straightened his back and closed his eyes, allowing himself to slip into a calm state. It took longer than usual. He supposed he was out of practice, having not found as much free time in the fast paced life that was lead on Earth. Soon he was relaxed and at peace in his meditation.

Unfortunately, it could not last. He was so encompassed in his meditation that he did not notice the change in the air currents as someone sat down beside him. He also did not notice when that person began chuckling softly under their breath. He did notice, however when they flicked the curve of Spock's upper ear with their fingers. He was pulled from his meditation and had to inhale deeply in order to quell the irritation rising within him. Slowly he opened his eyes and turned his head to see the person who had flicked him.

To absolutely no surprise, Spock thought to himself, it was Jim.

"Can you feel that?" he asked in a hushed voice as he flicked Spock's ear once more. Spock's eyes narrowed slightly and he had to remind himself that reacting emotionally was illogical in this situation. Jim's blue eyes stared back into Spock's and he saw that they held a mischievous humour that he had not encountered in any human before.

"Yes, I can," he said calmly and turned his head back to the front, breaking the hold of Jim's eyes. Unfortunately, though Spock had answered his absurd question, Jim continued to flick the tip of Spock's ear with his index finger.

"Are you sure?" he asked. "Haha, this is fun," he added, flicking Spock more vigorously.  
Spock's arm flew up and his fingers wrapped around Jim's wrist. He brought both their arms down and released Kirk quickly, as if to minimize any feelings he might absorb from the human.

"Please refrain from doing that," He said in a firm voice, working to control the anger that was sparking inside him. He was somewhat perplexed by this. Though his mother was human, Spock didn't often encounter problems when controlling his emotions and thinking logically. Perhaps it was due to the increased amount time he had spent with humans recently, Spock thought, although most humans had been nothing but welcoming to him. Perhaps it was just Jim's constant and incessant irritation of Spock that was challenging his control. Whatever it was, Spock did not wish it to continue.

"Your blood's, like, green right?" Jim asked a smirk growing on his face. Spock nodded in silent assent, not willing to continue a conversation with this boy and encourage his antics. Spock saw that on Jim's other side, stood his friend Leonard McCoy, who Jim often referred to as 'Bones.' He looked as exasperated by Kirk as Spock felt.

"Goddammit man, would you leave him alone," he said gruffly, imploring Jim.

"I suggest you follow the advice of your friend. He seems to be an intelligent person," Spock murmured sternly. Jim laughed loudly at the comment, not worrying himself with the rules of the detention. Kirk appeared to be endlessly amused, Spock noticed.

"Yeah, Bones is a smart one. Grumpy as hell, though. Y'know you're a real downer sometimes," he added to his friend, seeming to be joking, as he always was. 'Bones' did not look amused. He glanced from his friend to Spock a couple of times with a peculiar look of frustration on his face. Then he shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm going to go sit with Hikaru and the rest. You two… have fun, I guess." The boy shook his head and ran his hand through his hair before moving over to a cluster of people who were not heeding the rule of silence by any stretch of the imagination. Jim turned back to Spock and grinned widely.

"I do not understand the reason that you are currently sitting with me and not your colleagues." Spock said, a questioning tone to his voice.

"Eh," shrugged Kirk, "you're new. And you're an alien. And you have green blood. That's pretty cool. Plus I haven't had any new toys to play with in a while." Spock frowned at the analogy. He was not sure if it was a human expression, although he harboured an inkling that it was not.

"So how d'you like Earth so far?" Kirk asked. Spock felt slightly suspicious of the newly civil direction that the conversation was taking.

"This school is adequately furthering my education and the grounds are aesthetically pleasing, to an extent."

"Wow, you really  _are_ Vulcan."

"Technically, I am only half Vulcan, my Mother is Human."

"Half Human, huh? So, why do you have as much of a stick up your ass as the rest of the Hobgoblins?"

"Hobgoblins?" Spock queried

"Yeah, that's what Bones calls you guys, and I suppose you can see the resemblance," he said, tilting his head slightly as if he were appraising Spock's similarities to small green creatures that had warts and stole the possessions of Humans.

"Seeing as Hobgoblins are mythical creatures known for mischief and trickery, I would say that the resemblance lies with you," Spock said, evenly. Jim laughed loudly, his head falling against Spock's chest as his shoulders heaved with laughter, Spock's body tensed in response to the unwelcome proximity. Jim tried to draw breath and failed, as shudders of laughter gripped his chest once more. After the laughter had abated, Spock placed his hands on Jim's shoulders and straightened him, angling Kirk's body away from his own and drawing back quickly.

"So, you've actually got a personality under all that Vulcan bullshit, then. Good to know. You were starting to become boring." Spock pursed his lips ever so slightly, affronted.

"All Vulcans have personalities, James, it is just that we use logic to control our emotions and decisions in a way that humans do not," Spock explained, his voice tinged with annoyance.

" _James,_  huh? You know my name, Spock? Now, I never told you what my name was. How could you possibly know that?" Jim's face radiated pure glee.

"You know my name, information that I do not recall imparting to you." Spock countered.

"Yeah, well. I find out we've got a Vulcan coming in and you expect me  _not_  to look into it? I checked you out," Jim explained with a wink, "I knew your name before you even got here,  _Spock._  Also, nice: trying to avoid the question. I heard that Vulcans couldn't lie, but you're sneaky little fuckers, aren't you?" Spock turned his head away from Jim's expectant face. It was obvious that he was not one to drop a subject.

"Seeing as your voice is louder than any I have encountered prior, it was impossible for me not to learn your name after hearing it from the mouths of every teacher we share on more than one occasion." Spock explained truthfully, although he had not needed to hear Jim's name more than once for it to be fixated in his mind.

Jim seemed to sense this to some degree because his look of self-satisfaction only increased. However, contrary to his expression, he said, "Well, Spock, I'm offended," not sounding offended in the slightest. "I am an upstanding student, dedicated to my studies. Just because I am a lowly Human does not mean that you can look down on my humble attempts at getting an education." Jim's voice mockingly innocent.

" _You_ are offended? You are the one who has done nothing but insult me throughout this entire conversation. Furthermore, I do not recall ever saying that I kindled any condescension towards Humans."

"Careful now Spock. Dare I say I picked up on a little emotion there."

"I am unaware of what you are referring to," Spock said quietly, trying to keep his composure. He could not allow his face to portray any expression, as Jim would pounce upon the display like a hunter to prey.

"Sure, sure." Jim drawled, grinning. He looked up into Spock's eyes, "you can deny it all you want, Pointy, won't make it an less true."

Spock looked down from his slightly elevated height and met Jim's eyes, "Pointy? Was that a derogatory reference to my ears?"

"No, it was a derogatory reference to your green blood," Kirk said rolling his eyes, though he didn't seem exasperated at all.

"I am detecting large amounts of sarcasm within your comment," Spock stated, never understanding the need for such a concept himself.

"Yeah, no shit, Sherlock," Jim replied, dryly.

"I am not, nor have I ever had, any relation to the fictional character of Sherlock Holmes."

"It's an expression, Spock."

"I deduced that from the tone with which it was conveyed. However, I did not agree with the analogy," Spock replied.

At that time he noticed that Jim's friends were being abnormally quiet. Well, for them, at least. Spock looked over and saw that many of them were sneaking the two curious glances before turning back to the group conversation.

"I do believe they're talking about us, Spock," Kirk said, noticing Spock's gaze. The thought didn't seem to bother him.

"I had come to the same conclusion. Perhaps they wish for you to return."

"Yeah, probably, I  _am_  the sun around which their solar systems orbit: their reason for being: their sustenance of life." Kirk dramatised everything, Spock concluded.

"Indeed," Spock replied, wryly.

"Was that  _sarcasm,_  Spock?" Jim asked, incredulous.

"Once again, I am unaware of what you are referring to," Spock said, this time a small amount of humour coloured his voice. It wasn't much, but it caused a wide smile of achievement to spread across Jim's face.

Jim spent the rest of the detention sitting by Spock's side, continuing to annoy him with pointless and inappropriate questions, all the while inventing with new and creative names that somehow referred back to Spock's Vulcan characteristics.

After the detention had concluded, the students, all of whom had in no way remained silent, made their way back to the dormitories. Jim, without saying a word in parting to Spock, re-joined his friends and was quickly as immersed in the conversation as if he had been with them the whole time. Spock returned to his room to find a message on his PADD, it was from his mother.

**Call me when you get this.**

He did so, albeit somewhat warily.

"Mother," He greeted when she picked up.

"Spock," She said in return, her voice firm. "Do you want to explain to me how you received a detention on your  _first day of school_?!" Amanda demanded.

"Mother, It was not about me, alone. Fifty-four students were issued a detention as a result of a food fight in the cafeteria, an incident I was not involved in." It was partly true. He had not thrown any of the food himself.

"Still Spock, you're hardly ever in trouble, I'd hate to think that you're not doing well in your new environment."

"I can assure you, Mother, that such an event will not occur again."

"Good. I worry about you Spock."

"That is both unnecessary and illogical. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Well I'm your mother, it's my job," she said, a smile audible in her voice. "I miss you Spock," she added. And Spock who would usually never engage in such an emotion driven conversation, eventually replied with.

"I find I must concur with this statement."

"Okay, well, you stay out of trouble, young man," Amanda told him, voice warm once more.

"I will," Spock agreed.

"Okay, I love you Spock, goodbye."

"Goodbye, Mother," He said and ended the call.

The rest of the week went by without incident, and thankfully, Jim Kirk did not do anything excessive in order to annoy Spock. After a while Spock even became accustomed to the weight of Jim's feet on the back of his chair and the occasional flick to the ear when Jim was feeling particularly bored. T

he weekend was drawing near and Spock pondered idly whether he would be able to spend any time with Nyota, as he walked into the last lesson of the day on Friday; health. This class, Spock felt, was one that he did not find had any relevance to his education, however it was a required subject and Spock did understand its value amongst Humans: creatures who were so prone to doing what they wanted, without thinking of the consequence. Especially, he had noticed, teenagers. Spock had only had one health lesson so far and it had been uneventful. He had sat at the furthest distance from the front of the class as he could and had listened inattentively as the teacher explained the inner workings of the male reproductive organs, to many inappropriate remarks and unnecessary laughter from Spock's peers, mainly Jim. The lesson that Spock was currently in appeared to following in a similar direction and Spock, already having learnt both Vulcan and Human anatomy at a young age, once again let his focus wander. He did however hear when the teacher noted parenthetically how many interplanetary species, such as Vulcans, had similar biological construct to Humans.

"Really?" a loud voice issued from Spock's left. Spock felt exasperation course through him and was unable to prevent the common, human phrase 'here we go' flash through his mind.

"So, do Vulcans even have dicks?" Jim called out loudly, the class breaking out into snickers and giggles, and Spock felt the green blush rise in the tips of his ear.

"I assure you, Vulcans are equipped with necessary reproductive organs," he whispered back at Jim. "Our anatomy is not that dissimi-"

"James Kirk, see me after class," the teacher said angrily, interrupting Spock's hushed attempts to amend the situation.

"But, seriously, I'm curious. What's the point of this class if we don't learn how to have sex properly?"

"That is  _not_  the purpose of this class, Jim. The purpose is to make you aware of-"

"Of how to have sex, right?" Jim was smiling; he knew that the teacher would have no response. Spock turned to face Kirk.

"Vulcan's anatomy, as I stated, is very similar to that of a Human's."

"So you  _do_  have a dick," Jim said, now talking directly to Spock. "Is it green?"Spock opened his mouth as if to say something, but Jim cut him off, "or do you get your bits from your mom's side?" He smiled widely and cocked his head to the side, staring at Spock's crotch as if he could see through the fabric to ascertain the species of Spock's 'bits.' The whole class was engulfed in laughter. The teacher looked distraught.

"Mr Kirk, remove yourself from my class immediately and report to detention. This behaviour is unacceptable." Kirk slid his books smoothly from his desk into his arms, all the while grinning at Spock.

"Alright. Bye folks, as always, it was a pleasure brightening the dullness that is your lives." He winked at Spock, and mock saluted the teacher, before exiting the classroom, ruffling McCoy's hair playfully as he passed his angry friend. The sullen boy did not look amused.

Spock willed the green tinge that had risen on his cheeks to subside, and returned his focus to the front of the classroom, pointedly ignoring the stares of his classmates.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Subtext. ;)

Jim continued to harass Spock as the weeks went by. He did not allow a class to pass without disruption, but Spock also found that he was settling into a somewhat comfortable routine of periodically ignoring Jim and humouring him when he engaged Spock in pointless conversation, more often than not ending with a snide remark about Spock's genitalia.

By Spock's fifth week at his new Terran school, he had settled in and was surprisingly finding his time agreeable. He often studied with Uhura under the maple tree and he could see a visible development in her Vulcan, though admittedly, there was not much that warranted improvement. He was even warming slightly to James and no longer encountered difficulty controlling his emotions when they conversed. His irritation towards the loud blonde boy had subsided gradually over a time, though he still found aspects of Jim's personality infinitely perplexing.

When not spending time with Nyota or meditating, Spock had taken to studying Terran flora, noting the fascinating colours and the dissimilarities of Vulcan and Earth's environments.

One such time, Spock was inspecting a particularly vibrant flower that he had identified as  _hydrangea macrophylla,_ more commonly referred to as simply a hydrangea. He was particularly fascinated as the plant was a very specific shade of blue. He had known the hue at once to be cerulean and he was curious about the flower. As he was assessing it, reading about its properties on his PADD, he heard someone approaching. He did not turn around to greet the person, although he assumed it was Nyota, wishing to engage him in conversation. As the person drew nearer, however, Spock's keen Vulcan senses ascertained that it was not Uhura.

"Jim," he greeted as the person halted behind him.

"How'd you know?" Jim asked, his ever-present smile clearly audible in his voice.

"You have a specific aroma," Spock explained as he turned to face Kirk.

"Been sniffing me have you?" Jim seemed on the verge of laughter. Spock realised that he had inadvertently said the wrong thing. Being so accustomed to Vulcan tendencies of open honesty, he was not used to having to choose his words carefully as one always did around Jim.

"Vulcan senses are heightened, as you are well aware," Spock replied evenly, finding himself hoping that there was no green visible in his ears or his cheeks. "We put into use all of our senses, instead of solely relying on audio and visual reception as most humans do."

"I'll take that as a yes," Jim said, smile wider than ever.

"I do not recall ever seeing your face absent of a self-satisfied smile," Spock mused, looking at Jim's wide grin. His teeth were perfectly straight and very white. Jim's smile only widened upon hearing this statement.

"Think a lot about my mouth do you?" he asked. Surely his cheeks must hurt for smiling in such a wide manner so often, Spock thought.

"I am unsure of what you are implying," Spock said, turning back to look at the plant.

"Why? Are you stupid? Or just in denial?" Jim asked gleefully.

"Denial of what, precisely?" Spock asked, still studying the plant intently, although he already possessed all information that he could possibly gain through observation.

"There you go again," Kirk laughed. "You Vulcans think you're so stoic and logical. Spock I can read you like a book," Jim said tauntingly. Spock found the remnants of his irritation towards Kirk spark, though he refused to respond to such jibes.

"As always Jim, conversing with you has been mentally taxing. If you'll excuse me, I believe I will shower before retiring for the night." Jim laughed at this and Spock questioned what it was that he had said to trigger such a reaction.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Jim said in a somewhat sing-song voice.

"To what are you referring?" Spock asked evenly, curious about this boy's seemingly senseless ramblings.

"Oh it's just I heard that  _someone,_ wouldn't have the  _faintest_  idea who, but  _someone_ , has put a rather large amount of green dye in the hot water tank. Now it isn't obvious immediately, but after the skin dries, looks like we'll have a whole school of hobgoblins, just like you Pointy." Jim radiated glee.

"Are you attempting to communicate to me that you have deposited a substance in the water system of our school, the purpose of which is to dye the skin of students who shower green?" Spock asked, not as surprised as he should have been that Jim had done such a thing.

"Why Spock, I've done nothing of the sort. I was merely expressing concern for you. Anyways, toodaloo." Jim wiggled his fingers over his shoulder as he walked away, Spock staring suspiciously after him.

He didn't shower that night. Instead Spock cleaned his face and hands in the washbowl he kept in his room and went to sleep, curious of what the next day might bring in terms of the student body's skin tone.

Jim did not lie and true to his word, when Spock walked into his first class the next day, his classmates all seemed to be various shades of green. Many of the girls had attempted to cover up as much skin as possible with scarves and gloves. Spock also noticed that the fair-headed students had suffered the worst, their hair now tinged with a dull shade of olive. Across the room in his usual chair, Spock saw Jim sitting happily, grinning at the proceedings. Surprisingly he, too, had green skin. Spock could even see the dye in his blonde hair from across the room. Next to him, as per usual, was his friend Leonard, who looked especially angry and impatient today. Spock suspected that it was on account of his newly obtained resemblance to a hobgoblin.  
The only person other than Jim who seemed practically gleeful about the proceedings was Nyota's close friend Gaila, who, on account of being an Orion, was born a natural emerald hue and was therefore unaffected by the dye.  
In fact, it seemed that Spock was the only one in the room who was not sporting a shade of green. Even Uhura, whose skin was a dark bronze, now was a mottled, murky olive colour and she appeared to be extremely unimpressed with her new look. She was glaring at the back of Jim's head and there was not a trace of doubt in her expression that she knew his identity as the culprit of the nonsensical prank.

Spock walked over to his customary desk and set down his PADD.

Leonard McCoy addressed him then,"The whole student body is green. Everyone. I overheard Vice Principal Thompson on my way to class, there's gonna be an assembly held in the hall." He did not seem happy about the prospect.

Jim, on the other hand was laughing. "I heard it even got some of the staff," he said, chuckling. "Jameson stayed late last night 'cause of some paper work or something, decided to have a shower here. Now we've got a green Principal." Jim laughed some more.

"How're you the only one who's not green?" McCoy demanded of Spock, eyebrows drawn together in a scowl. Next to him Jim was still chortling. The two friends couldn't be more opposite.

Spock looked at Jim pointedly before opening his mouth to answer the question. but before he could say anything he was cut off.

"Oh god, he tipped you off didn't he?" Leonard looked accusingly at his friend. "Goddammit man, you told the Hobgoblin and not  _me_!?"

"Sorry Bones," Jim shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do this if that's what you mean." Everyone within earshot glared at Jim in disbelieving accusation upon hearing his words. Nyota looking angriest of all, although Leonard did come in at a close second.

"Hey," said Jim defensively, raising his hands to shoulder height. "I'm green like the rest of you. Why would I have a shower, knowing full well that there was dye in the water? If anyone looks suspicious here it's Pointy."

McCoy only rolled his eyes at this and none of the present students discontinued to glare at Kirk, who was doing his best to look innocent, and failing miserably. At that moment, the teacher, who had been absent so far, strode into the classroom; his skin too was green as he was one of the supervisors of the dormitories and lived on campus. He announced that there was to be an assembly held in the school hall, confirming McCoy's account, and instructed the class to file out of the room and make their way to the congregation.

It was true. They had a green Principal.

Professor Jameson stood on a podium in front of the school and spoke for a lengthy amount of time about all the ways in which the green dye incident, as it was coming to be known, was a gross misconduct and that whoever the perpetrator was would be severely punished. Spock could see that a few of the teachers in the hall were also green. Jim, who was standing next to him, followed his gaze and sniggered.

"All students who were not… affected by the green dye, please report to my office," the Principal concluded with. He then marched angrily from the hall, accompanied by Vice Principal Thompson, who looked as though he were trying not to smile. The rest of the staff followed after them, leaving a few teachers to direct the students back to class.

As soon as they exited the hall, a group of people gathered around Jim. A few of them high-fived him before going on their way. A few others, like Nyota, didn't look as though they were inclined to do so.

"So," Gaila said suddenly, breaking the tension, "do I report to the principals office or not?" The question made Nyota smile despite herself. She shot Jim one last venomous glare before walking off with her friend.

Jim's friends, Sulu and Scotty, were laughing at one of the members of their social group. Spock had noticed him before but did not know him by name. He too, it seemed, had not showered the previous night and now had to report to the Principals office, along with Spock. As they walked, Jim and the others took the route to their class, while Spock and the boy were forced to walk along the corridors leading to the Main Office.

"Hi, I am Pavel Chekov," The boy said in a Russian accent smiling meekly at Spock, looking up at him with very large, blue-grey eyes.

"Spock," he said in return nodding his head in greeting.

"You didn't shower eizer zen?" he asked, glumly.

"No," Spock replied in a flat voice.

"Ah, zis is just my luck," Chekov said, running his hands through his mass of curls and shaking his head in regret.

They reached the Principal's office then and saw eleven others who still retained their normal skin tone. Soon after they arrived, the door to the office opened and Principal Jameson walked out. Silently he held out his arm in a clear indication for them to enter his office. Slowly they filed in until there were thirteen of them, standing, slightly cramped in the luxurious room. Jameson took up residence in his leather seat behind the orderly, modern desk and looked at them sternly.

"Now I know that most of you would have had nothing to do with this mess, except for bad luck. But, since there's no way of knowing who did this, unless they come forward, and I think it's safe to assume no one will do so, I will be forced to punish all of you," he said and Spock noted the regret in his voice. "I'm sorry, I know this is unfair to most of you, but action needs to be taken and it is only logical to assume that the person responsible for this is one of you." He looked around the room.

"Obviously everyone knows who it is," called out a senior boy who Spock had not met before. "It was that little twerp Jim Kirk. How come _I_  have to suffer because I didn't have time for a shower and  _he_  gets of scot free because he looks like the grinch?" The boy crossed his arms over his chest angrily. He was obviously attempting to appear intimidating, though Spock just thought he looked rather petulant.

"There is no evidence that James Kirk had anything to do with this," The Principal said tiredly, not seeming to believe his own words. He ran a green hand over his face. "I'm sorry Peter, but there's nothing I can do. Someone has to face the consequences." Peter scowled. Professor Jameson sighed, "you will all report to detention this afternoon. Seeing as we have no proof that any of you is the one who put the dye in the water tank, this will be the extent of your punishment. Alright, you all may go back to class."

After departing the office, the group went their separate ways, Peter still muttering about 'that little cunt Kirk' and Chekov and Spock heading to their Advanced Mathematics class.

When they arrived Spock was completely unsurprised to see Jim laughing and talking animatedly. However, as the class progressed, Jim seemed to be more disruptive than usual. He was being excessively loud, even by his standards and interrupted the teacher numerous times.

"Detention Mr Kirk!" The teacher yelled after the fourth interruption. "Please report to detention after school today," she amended, trying to regain her composure. Jim did not look perturbed by the punishment that he had just been issued; quite the opposite in fact; he seemed strangely pleased. He did, however, remain quiet for the rest of the lesson. Spock could not help but feel as though everything that day had gone according to Jim's plan.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's not easy being green. ;)

Spock reported to the detention room later that day for his punishment. When he entered the classroom, he noted the other students who had been issued with detention, all of whom looked extremely irritated. None more so than Peter, who looked angry beyond belief at the fact that he was carrying out a punishment for something he was not responsible for.

Spock was not provoked into emotion by the circumstances: it was not the first time he was serving a detention on account of Jim. He seated himself, as he usually did, at the back of the room. Opting for a more secluded spot over the seat aside Chekov, who was also sentenced to two hours of detention.

The teacher who was presiding over them was the same woman who had supervised the detention that was held in the gymnasium. Spock deduced that she was not a very capable authority figure, on account of the fact that the gym had been unnecessarily loud during the time when it was supposed to be completely silent. However, as Spock had no interest in engaging in conversation at the current time, he was not affected by the teacher's lack of competence.

24.8 minutes into the detention, Spock was fifty seven pages into a book that he was finding quite educational. He had just reached a particularly engrossing section when the door to the classroom swung open and hit the wall with a soft  _thud_.

Jim strode into the detention, a careless grin adorned on his face. He shut the door behind him with his foot as he walked in and presented the teacher with a detention slip, notifying her of his reason for being there. She didn't seem surprised to see him and seemed even less surprised that he was both late and disruptive. She took the slip silently from him and motioned for him to sit down. Kirk angled his feet in a direction that was clearly leading towards Spock. On his way to the back of the room, James passed his friend Chekov, whose hair he ruffled with his hand.

"Hiya Chekov," he said as he passed, "havin' fun?"

"Jes, so much," the boy replied sarcastically. Jim chuckled as he walked over and set his books down at the table adjacent to Spock's. He then took a seat and propped his feet up on Spock's desk, while leaning his head against the wall. "What's up Pointy?" he drawled, making no effort to keep his voice down. As Spock had suspected, the teacher made no move to quiet him.

"Must you insist on referring to me as such?" Spock asked, somewhat wearily.

"Sure why not? It's fun. Also it kinda fits doesn't it?" he said, flicking the tip of Spock's ear as he often did. Had Spock been human, he would have sighed audibly. However, being Vulcan, he had more control over his reactions and did not allow himself to give Jim the satisfaction of knowing he had succeeded in his goal of provoking him. "Hey Spock?" Jim asked.

"Yes, Jim?" Spock said, looking over at him. There was still a hint of a smile on Kirk's face but he seemed serious enough, for the most part.

"Do Vulcans ever get nosebleeds?" He asked and Spock pondered the implications of his question.

"It is not an overly uncommon occurrence," he answered eventually, "we bleed similarly to humans."

"Except for the colour," Jim said, smile back in place.

"Affirmative," Spock replied curtly, "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," Jim assured him, before quickly putting his hand to the back of Spock's head and suddenly slamming the Vulcan's nose into the desk. Green blood trickled out of one of Spock's nostrils as he stared incredulously at Jim. However, before he could question Jim's actions, the boy was on his feet.

"Ms Hoffman! He's bleeding," he cried, making the teacher look up, startled. Jim grabbed Spock's hair and yanked his face away from his hands, which were attempting to stem the bleeding, in order to show the teacher. "He just suddenly got a nosebleed," Jim said, his voice sounding extremely alarmed. Though Spock knew the panic was completely fabricated, he had to admit that Kirk was quite convincing. "He needs help," he implored gesturing at Spock's blood spattered face.

"Very well," the teacher said, trying to remain calm. "He may go to the nurses office."

"He's new, he doesn't know where it is," Jim called, seeming more panicked than ever. "Please miss, he's bleeding."

The hand in Spock's hair forced his head forward until he was slumped on the desk. "See? He needs medical attention. He can't get there by himself." Jim pleaded, his eyes wide with fear.

"Okay," the teacher said, "James, you make take Mr Spock to the nurse's office."

"Can I stay with him please?" Jim asked. "He might have a concussion, he won't know what's going on." Spock frowned down at the desk. How gullible did Jim assume this teacher to be?

"Very well. You may stay with your friend," the teacher said tightly, running to open the door for them as Jim pulled Spock's arm around his shoulders.

"Go limp," he hissed in his ear and Spock, inexplicably, followed his instruction. Jim dragged him from the room, none too gracefully, before shutting the door in Ms Hoffman's worried face. He continued to help Spock walk, as if it were necessary, until they were outside the building.

It wasn't until Jim released him and burst into laughter, that Spock realised how little distance there had been between them. The aroma of Jim's aftershave lingered in the air as Kirk sauntered towards the school gates.

"The nurse's office is in the opposite direction of where you are walking," Spock informed him, easily keeping up with Jim's long, determined strides.

"I know, Pointy," Jim replied and winked. "We ain't going to the nurses office. You're fine," he smiled, handing Spock a tissue. "Here. Now suck it up. I just busted you out of detention. You should be thanking me."

"Was it truly necessary to hit me?" Spock asked, pressing the wad of paper to his nose to stifle the trickle of blood.

"Eh, probably not," Jim shrugged, offering no further information or apologies.

"Are you intending to exit the school grounds Jim?" Spock asked as they neared the gates.

"Well,  _duh_. And I thought you were smart Spock. What did you think we were doing?"

"You know students are only permitted to leave the school grounds with permission from the Head of the Student Dormitories. And such an action can only take place on a weekend, today is a Thursday."

"Yeah I know the rules Spock. I also know how to break 'em," Jim said, looking sideways at him. "Come on Pointy. It's an adventure. We're boldly going where no one has gone before."

"I highly doubt the streets of San Francisco are uncharted territory." Spock said wryly.

"Yeah, whatever Spock. Look, you in? Or did I give you that nosebleed for nothing?"

"As I have stated previously, hitting me was an action that I have never regarded as necessary, James."

"Great, I'm taking that as a yes." Jim grabbed Spock's hand and dragged him through the gates, out on to the street. Jim remarked gleefully about the simplicity with which one could enter or exit the school and Spock was obliged to agree.

They caught a tram into town, hopping on and off at various stops, never paying a cent and avoiding ticket inspectors at every turn. The expression on Jim's face was reminiscent of a child's during a Terran festival. Spock, too, found himself admitting that he was not as unsettled at the turn of events as he should have been, considering his Vulcan upbringing. He was, however, conflicted over the circumstances, knowing that, were his parents aware of his current whereabouts, they would be appalled by his blatant disregard for authority. Nevertheless, he allowed Jim to drag him from restaurant to cafe to diner until they found an establishment they both thought suitable.

"I assume I am paying for this," Spock asked as he secured the last lettuce leaf from his dish with his fork. Despite his tendency towards traditional Vulcan food, he was not averse to a Terran diet.

"Who says anyone's paying for it?" Jim said, winking as he fished the last morsel of food from his plate and popped it into his mouth. Spock found it strangely difficult to draw his gaze from Jim's lips before the meaning behind the blonde's words managed to sink in. Spock stared incredulously at Jim.

"James, you cannot mean-" he began before Kirk had secured his grasp around Spock's wrist and was tugging him from the cafe.

Spock was well aware he was capable of breaking Jim's hold and returning to pay for the food, but the boy's excitement proved contagious as Spock found himself recklessly following Jim. Despite his better judgement, Spock allowed Kirk to drag him through the maze of side streets and alleyways until they had eventually rejoined the main road. They headed towards the marketplace, discovering a street fair that was being held there.

Spock, who had never experienced an event of quite the same atmosphere, inspected each stall curiously, assessing the nature of the goods that were being sold. Jim seemed enthralled by everything. He ran from stall to stall excitedly, wanting whatever he saw before his gaze was soon drawn to another interesting object. Spock even bought him a small, almost transparent rock, its shades and hues forever changing as the light hit it from varying angles. Jim turned it deftly between his fingers, gazing at the soft glow it emitted in wonderment. Seeing Jim so purely happy evoked a warmth within him that Spock had rarely experienced, somewhat akin to the fondness he remembered feeling as a young child, when he would curl up between his mother and I-Chaya during Vulcan's colder nights.

Jim, who was still a vibrant shade of green, drew the gaze of many people. Most looked curious at his strange appearance, others' expressions seemed to be one of a judgemental nature. Although Spock could not be certain if they were attributed to Jim's skin, or simply his atrocious behaviour and tendency to break things, often previous to buying them. One such glance in particular attracted Jim's attention and he glared defiantly back at the passers by.

" _What?_ " he yelled, stopping the immediate crowd's slow meandering. "Never seen an Orion before? We're born green y'know!" he yelled indignantly, shaking his fists at the strangers. They continued to walk hurriedly away from Kirk, throwing back affronted glares as they did.

" _Xenophobes!_ " James yelled accusingly after them, his voice even louder, drawing a larger number of shocked views from the crowd. "Oh fuck off," he said, startling the onlookers further before they continued about their business.

Smiling as though nothing had just transpired, Jim spun back to face Spock. "So," he said merrily, "Shall we?"

The two of them spent ample time weaving between stalls, buying trinkets that struck their fancy and tasting street food that Jim 'just  _had_  to try', as they walked. After the sun had dipped behind the buildings and the remaining orange glow that had spread across the sky was all the light they had with which to see, they made their way back to the school. In their hands were clutched cream cones and small bags full of pointless items that Jim had demanded they purchase.

Spock's watch read 18:08; it was drawing near time to be in the cafeteria for dinner. Although he was so filled with street food, he was unsure of his capacity, or even his willingness, to eat once again. As they drew nearer to the gates, Jim grabbed their ice creams and threw them into some nearby bins. Spock gazed after them slightly wistfully before he remembered himself. He was Vulcan and had  _no_ emotional attachment to that ice cream whatsoever.

As dinner was to be served at 6:30, the two of them parted ways at the gates and returned to their rooms in order to deposit the trifles they had acquired. Spock had purchased a green scarf, Jim had insisted on green to 'match his dick,' he had said. He was also now the owner of a small jade elephant with amber eyes that glittered when the light struck them, and an assortment of peculiar stones, which had caught Jim's attention.

'They're all so different and cool. Individual, y'know?' he had said, scooping up a handful of the rocks and passing half of them to Spock. Now they each possessed their own alluring stones, both beautiful and unearthly. Spock appreciated their elegance and could barely contain a smile at the thought of the expression on Jim's face as he had inspected each one closely, marvelling at all of them in turn.

It was at that moment that Spock's PADD began ringing, interrupting his reverie. Glancing at the caller ID he recognised it as his mother's and picked up immediately.

"Are you aware that this is your  _second_ detention in your  _first semester_?" she demanded before he was able to greet her, shattering the serenity he had managed to establish. "What has gotten into you lately, Spock?"

"Mother, nothing has 'gotten into me' as you say, and once again my being in detention was through no fault of my own."

"You know, I seem to remember you saying something similar the last time this happened. It would seem you have awfully bad luck Spock," she remarked angrily.  _Not bad luck_ , he thought to himself,  _Jim_.

"I assure you, Mother, it is the truth. Vulcans cannot lie."

"I am well aware of that Spock. I am also well aware that  _you_ are half Human."

"Mother I would not lie to you, Vulcan limitations or no," he assured her, his voice persuasive. He heard her sigh through the connection.

"Spock this behaviour  _can't_  continue. Your father and I will not stand for such insubordination."

"Yes Mother, I am sorry," Spock replied, truly feeling regret as he did. "It will not happen again."

"I hope not. If it does, we may be forced to return you to Vulcan," she said, Spock felt a strange feeling of dread creep through him at the thought.

"I promise you Mother, that will not be necessary."

"Thank you, Spock," his mother said.

"Goodbye, Mother," Spock responded.

"Goodbye." She said softly and ended the call.

He made his way down to the cafeteria for dinner, not particularly hungry, but the peculiar desire to see Jim once more was taking root within him, and he was of the opinion that he could not prevent it from growing if he tried. Spock entered the cafeteria and sat down in his usual place next to Nyota. Out of habit, he looked over to the table Jim and his friends usually occupied and was surprised to find it empty.

"Looking for me?" a voice said in his ear. Spock suppressed the shudder that the proximity sent through him, instead turning in his seat to see Jim, who was in the process of seating himself at the table. His friends McCoy, Sulu, Scotty and Chekov had already taken up places next to and across from Jim and Spock.

"So, I heard Jim busted you out of detention and you two played hookey for the rest of the day," Sulu said, smiling. Spock noted that his mannerisms were quite reflective of Jim's

"Yup," Jim said, nodding as he took a bite of his food, Spock looked at the rather large hamburger that had clutched in his hands.

"How are you able to consume more food after having already ingested numerous street foods periodically for the last two hours?" Spock asked of him.

"Human's have four stomachs, Spock. Didn't you know that?" Jim replied, his mouth bulging with food.

"I'm pretty sure thats a cow," Bones said, rolling his eyes at Kirk.

"Yo mama's a cow," Jim shot back, causing the table to laugh loudly.

"Based on fundamental biological limitations, Leonard's mother cannot feasibly be a cow," Spock said calmly, looking at Jim, who burst out laughing. He laughed to such an extent that he began to pound his fist upon the table as a signal of lack of air. After a while he resurfaced and looked at Spock with shining eyes.

"Oh, wow," he said, subsiding into chuckles once again.

"You're such an infant, Jim," McCoy chided, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry," Nyota chimed in, addressing Sulu, "but did you just say that Spock  _ditched_ detention with Jim."

"Yep," Hikaru responded, smiling conversationally.

"You didn't actually though?" She asked, her question directed at Spock.

"In actualit-" he began, before Jim cut him off.

"Yeah, we did," he replied, unabashed. "Why? Upset I stole your boyfriend?"

She raised her perfectly arched eyebrows at him before responding.

"Don't worry Kirk," she said, a bite to her voice. "You wont have any competition from me. Spock's all yours. Just refrain from getting him expelled and sent back to Vulcan." Spock, who had told her in passing of his mother's concerns regarding him, was surprised by Uhura's sudden impartation of such information.

"What?" Kirk said quickly, expression suddenly serious, swinging his head to look at Spock.

"You will have to be more specific, James."

"Don't give me that you know  _damn well_ what I'm talking about."

"It is nothing to concern yourself over. My mother simply voiced the disquiet that she was experiencing as a result of me finding myself in trouble twice since I began at this school, approximately 5.7 weeks ago."

"So you're saying that if you get into trouble again, you have to go back to Planet Hobgoblin?" Jim asked incredulously.

"There is a high possibility of that occurring, should I be reprimanded once more, yes," Spock replied calmly, ignoring the Hobgoblin comment.

"Well Spock, that is not acceptable. You are not to get into  _anymore_  trouble young man. Do you hear me?" Spock looked over at Kirk, slightly exasperated.

"James, you are the  _sole_  reason that I ever received detention in first place," he said, causing Kirk's friends, even McCoy, to laugh.

"Aye, tha's true. Sorry mate, but 'e's got ya on tha' one," Scotty said amiably, patting Jim on the shoulder with his hand, his expression still one of amusement. Jim paused for a moment to re-evaluate what he was going to say.

"Well, that's all gonna change now isn't it? We can't lose our one and only Hobgoblin just cause he can't seem to get enough of detention. Sorry Spock, Planet Pointy is gonna miss you for a little while longer," Jim smiled at Spock and turned to his friends, "from now on, don't let me do stupid things that would get Spock in trouble." He cautioned sternly.

"You grossly overestimate the amount of control we have over your actions Kirk," Bones said. "I don't think I've ever known you to refrain from doing something because someone told you not to. Hell, I've seen you  _do_  things  _solely because_  someone told you not to." Nyota laughed at this comment and McCoy looked slightly surprised, if not a little less angry.

"Well, this time it'll be different," Kirk said, determination colouring his voice, his face was set in a stubborn scowl. Spock could not help but find his expression endearing. "You ain't going nowhere, Pointy, ya hear me?"

"That statement would indicate that I am, in fact, going somewhere, James."

"Spock! Shut up."


	6. Chapter 6

Jim remained determined in his mission to keep Spock out of trouble, and it appeared as though the promise that Spock had made to his mother would be possible to fulfil. Kirk even made an effort to be less distracting during class, although he did continue to rest his feet on the back of the Vulcan's chair and flick his ear every so often. Spock, however, had long since grown used to such habitual behaviour. Though occasionally door hinges  _mysteriously_  went missing, causing doors to fall on the people who attempted to open them, and a laxative  _somehow_  found its way into a stroganoff that was being served in the cafeteria, Spock was always unconnected and unaffected whenever such incidents did occur.

Many weeks passed and everything settled into a comfortable rhythm. Jim would lightly tease and annoy Spock throughout the school day. Afterwards Spock would sometimes study with Nyota under their usual tree, other times he would spend his hours in the school's extensive library, reading intently. When the day drew to a close, he would migrate to the cafeteria where he would consume his dinner at his customary table, which was now permanently occupied by Jim and his friends.

One particularly lethargic Friday afternoon found the group of teenagers sprawled under the maple tree.

Uhura, who had decided she was too tired to study, seemed in a substantially more agreeable mood than was usual. Gaila sat next to her, drawing absently on her lower leg with what appeared to be a permanent marker. Nyota, surprisingly made no motion to stop her. Instead, she had reclined against the tree, her eyes softly closed in relaxation.

Jim was resting his head against Spock's leg, looking towards the sky and pointing out the shapes of clouds, a human practice Spock had never quite grasped. However, as he looked down upon Jim's wide, innocent expression, the one he often wore whenever he felt no one was looking, Spock found himself wishing he could see the world through Jim's eyes. A world full of wonder and laughter and magic. Even Leonard seemed to be in a peaceful mood as he conversed with Jim, he too was lying on his back, regarding the sky. Although Spock noticed that he often would turn his head to glance at Nyota.

Sulu, Scotty and Chekov were sitting aside them in a small circle, immersed in a game of cards. The Russian boy appeared to be liberating the other two of their money. Spock looked down into Jim's wide blue eyes and felt a peacefulness spread through him, an entirely different feeling than the one his meditation brought him. He felt, whole somehow.

"So," said Jim, raising his voice slightly in order to encompass the entire group and breaking the peaceful film that had been placed over them. "There's a party I was invited to in the city tonight. Some guy I know's parents are outta town. You guys up for it?" he asked, his tone leaving no doubt in Spock's mind that every one of them would be attending this party whether they were 'up for it' or otherwise. He looked down at Jim's face, now returned to mischief and laughter, the open wonderment hidden away.

"I presume that we do not have much choice in the matter," he said calmly, no question in his voice.

"That's the spirit, Spock," Jim grinned up at him.

Most of their cohorts seemed genuinely excited for the party and accepted the invitation enthusiastically. Both Nyota and Leonard, however, were extremely reluctant to consent to going, nonetheless they grudgingly agreed. As Spock was Vulcan, he was conditioned to defer to logic when making decisions and therefore did not attempt to decline the invitation, knowing full well such an action would be completely inconsequential to whether or not he would be in attendance.

Jim accompanied Spock back to his room after dinner.

"I still do not understand why this is necessary, Jim," Spock said as he opened his door.

"It's necessary, Spock, because you have no idea how to dress- holy actual fuck you have your own room," Jim said suddenly, staring at the double bed that sat against the wall. "What the fuck? I have to share with Scotty  _and_ Bones. How the hell did you get your own room?"

"My father is the Vulcan ambassador to Earth and therefore, my family is somewhat prominent within Starfleet's circles," Spock explained.

"Nice," Jim said, looking around the room, the expression on his face impressed, "Prince Spock."

"I assure you that in no way am I royalty," Spock said, unable to keep his voice from hinting at the exasperation he often felt towards his friend.

"Whatever. You're rich and that's awesome," Jim said, vaulting himself onto the bed where he lay down with his arms extended behind his head in a relaxed manner.

"Now Spock, lets take a look at your clothes."

Spock ended up wearing something of Jim's.

After inspecting every item of clothing that Spock had brought to Earth with him, Jim had simply taken Spock's new green scarf and declared it the only thing that he 'might be caught dead in.' He had then retrieved some of his own jeans and a tight fitting shirt, presenting them to a somewhat reluctant Spock. Unfortunately, they were not of the same shoe size and Jim grudgingly gave Spock permission to wear his dress shoes, after remarking 'hopefully no one will be looking at your feet.'

The group of friends assembled at the school gates, all looking astoundingly different in their efforts to appear aesthetically pleasing for the party. Spock noticed that Nyota looked particularly noteworthy in a golden dress that extended to the middle of her thighs. Her hair was down and she hair curled it. Spock also noticed that McCoy was of a similar opinion and seemed to alternate between staring at Nyota's bared legs and looking determinedly away from them. Gaila, beside her looked particularly striking as well, wearing a low-cut, backless, onyx dress that didn't quite reach her knees. Jim whistled appreciatively as they approached, regarding the two girls in a lascivious manner.

"Stop leering, Jim," Sulu called over to him, "you'll scare them away."

"Uhura's got a strong stomach, Jim," Bones said, "but not that strong." Nyota laughed musically at the comment. Leonard looked surprisingly pleased at her laughter and seemed to warm to the idea of going to the party.

"Well," said Jim, clapping his hands together, "why are we all standing around here? Let's ditch this place. We're walking there. It's not far."

Gaila looked aghast at the thought of walking and glanced down at her excessively high-heeled shoes forlornly, before joining the group as they passed through the gates. Spock did so absent of the guilt that he had experienced the last time. This was on account of Uhura, who, unlike Jim, regarded the rules as guidelines to be followed and had secured the necessary permission for the group to leave the grounds.

They walked for approximately 16.4 minutes before they reached a tall apartment complex. Jim pressed a button that would call to the apartment on the twenty-fifth floor, the exact number of floors that the building was composed of. They were going to the penthouse. A slightly slurred voice answered the intercommunication device and confirmed Jim's identity as someone who had been invited. Spock could hear the loud thrumming of music in the background as the two conversed, Jim announcing himself as James Kirk and his plus one. Even lacking a Vulcan's prowess in math, it was rather clear that more than one person was accompanying Jim. Nevertheless, they were admitted into the building and stepped into an elevator, where Jim pressed the topmost button. They rode in silence for a minute before the doors opened, revealing an enormous, lavish apartment, packed to the brim with people.

Jim beamed his wide, mischievous smile and yelled at the top of his lungs, " _Who's ready to fucking PARTY!?_ "

The call was greeted with cheers from the mass of people in the apartment and James strode purposefully from the elevator. Without a second thought for his companions, he disappeared into the crowd. The rest of their company spilled out after him, joining the party enthusiastically and seeming to be having a good time. Even McCoy and Uhura bonded over their shared sullenness and unwillingness to be there.

Everyone was dancing. As Spock looked about himself, he could see everyone moving their bodies in time with the music and laughing at those who danced out of rhythm, with awkward jerky movements, attempting to appear careless about that fact that they were bad dancers. Many of the females, Spock noticed, were scantily clad and acting without abandon.

Spock's eyes instinctively scanned the mass of people for Jim's familiar blonde hair, to no avail. Spock had not laid eyes on Jim since they had arrived at the party approximately 1.3 hours prior, by Spock's estimation. After a while of lingering near the elevator, not interacting with anyone and feeling extremely out of place, Spock decided to seek out his friends in an endeavour to occupy himself.

He walked into the crowd of moving bodies, searching with his keen Vulcan eyes for a sign of a familiar face. The green of Gaila's skin caught his eye and he made his way over to where she was dancing. There he found her with Sulu, both of them acting rather shamelessly as they danced, their hands moving over each other's bodies in an exploratory manner. Spock, deciding that he did not wish to intervene, moved on, seeking a more quiet section of the room in which he could dwell in solitude for the remainder of the evening.

He was walking down a dim hallway, the music from the party slightly dulled by the partition that the wall created, when he witnessed Uhura standing against the wall conversing with McCoy. As Spock neared the two, he realised that, in actuality, they were not conversing at all; rather, they appeared to be engaged in the action of pressing their mouths together. McCoy seemed to have Nyota pinned to the wall and was trailing her collarbones with his mouth. Spock promptly turned on his heels and started in the opposite direction, not willing to witness any more of their exchange.

As the apartment was equipped with a bar, Spock began towards it, concluding that he would be able to sit down for a portion of the night. When he arrived, he encountered Scotty and Chekov, who were discussing with passion the concept of warp drives and how they could be improved. Spock was aware that both of the boys had specialised in the field of mechanics and engineering and were looking towards future careers manning ships with Starfleet. Scotty appeared to be of the opinion that transwarp beaming technology was a possible notion, while the Russian boy remained adamant in his denial of its feasibility. Spock, not having studied warp theory, did not have anything to contribute to the boys' conversation and found himself, once again, moving away.

He realised at that time that he had never truly been searching for his friends in the crowd, he had been searching only for Jim and, having not found him yet, Spock continued to roam about the apartment, looking around for his blue-eyed companion.

Spock found him when he inadvertently walked into a bathroom. Kirk was standing at the bathroom counter, between the legs of a rather intoxicated red haired female. The girl was giggling as she attempted to pull Jim's shirt over his head, while keeping their lips fixated to one another's mouths. The two of them took a while to notice that the door had been opened and Jim broke the hold of the girl's lips and turned his head in time to see Spock disappear from the doorframe.  
Spock, for the first time in his life understood what it was to feel lost. Somewhat discouraged he made his way back to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. It was there that James found him a while later.

"Hey, Spock," Jim said, his usual smile absent from his voice.

"I apologise for intruding on you earlier. I was unaware that the bathroom was occupied," Spock replied, voice monotone.

"Yeah," Jim said with a breathless laugh, extending his arm behind himself to rub the back of his neck. "Should've remembered to lock that," he seemed rather sheepish.

"It is understandable," Spock replied evenly, "you appeared rather busy," Jim didn't seem to know how to respond to that statement. He walked closer and climbed on to the seat adjacent to Spock.

"Vodka," He said to the hired bartender wearily. "Lots of vodka," The man behind the bar appraised the two boys, eyebrows raised.

"And you're twenty-one, are you?" he said sarcastically.

"Yep," Kirk answered easily, without missing a beat. "Twenty-one last May, now where's that vodka?"

The bartender rolled his eyes before muttering "Sure," under his breath. He handed Jim a shot glass. "Not my problem, kid. Just don't tell nobody," He said before walking away to attend to the orders of the other partygoers. Kirk downed the shot in one go. Spock could hear the liquid flow through Jim's throat as he swallowed.

"Ah," Jim gasped and slammed his hand onto the counter, though he didn't gag.

"How many of those have you ingested thus far?" Spock asked, noting Jim's slow movements and slightly slurred words.

"C'mon Spock, don't be a downer. This is only like my… uh," Jim paused and started counting on his fingers, his eyes slightly crossed. He held up his hands to show 5 fingers pointing skyward, "that many."

"James," Spock said, concern in his voice, "that's an extremely high quantity of alcohol."

"Oh, Spock. You worry too much. I can hold my liquor. I'm a very sober drunk you know," Kirk said, one of his eyelids drooping, half closed.

"I can observe that for myself," Spock said grimly, as Jim swallowed another amount of Vodka, which the bartender had just poured him.

"Sarcasm, Spock? Hehe, I'm rubbing off on you," Jim laughed and leaned sideways to look up at Spock in a playful manner. It was when he was sitting in this precarious position that he fell sideways from his chair and hit the ground heavily. From there he proceeded to laugh hysterically.

Spock looked down at him and stood up from his own chair. He bent down and scooped Jim up in his arms, his heightened Vulcan strength allowing him to support the boy with ease. He located Scotty and Chekov and informed them of Jim's condition and that he would be assisting him back to the school, while the others remained at the party. Scotty and Chekov agreed enthusiastically, seeming distracted as they attempted to engage two physically appealing human females in conversation.

Spock carried Jim from the building and up the quiet, sleeping streets, headed in the direction of the school. Soon after they had departed the party, Jim began to struggle and writhe in Spock's arms, demanding to be released. Spock set him on his feet but continued to remain vigilant of his balance, should Spock need to prevent him from falling again. Jim was never more immature than when he was drunk, Spock noticed as the boy shouted and danced through the streets, singing horribly an old Terran nursery rhyme about a girl named Mary and her various flowers.

"That's you Spock," He said when the song had concluded. "You're Mary, quite contrary. You're always correcting me Spock. And see? You've got those plants you like to look at, that's the other part," Jim explained, seemingly impressed by his ingenuity with the comparison.

Kirk began to laugh louder than ever and he stumbled into Spock, face pressed against his chest and feet dragging as Spock supported his weight. Jim began to mumble incoherently into Spock's shirt and Spock decided that it would be unwise to allow Jim to continue walking. Once again he brought the blonde up into his arms and continued carrying him down the street. Jim appeared to be completely unaware of his surroundings as he continued to mutter and chuckle breathlessly.  
Once they had reached the school and were crossing the grounds, Jim had started to regain some focus and lucidity.

"Down," He moaned softly, "put me down." He beat his fists weakly against Spock's chest like an impudent child until Spock set him down gently on his unsure feet. He did, however, keep one of Jim's arms extended over his shoulders, so as to keep him upright.

"No," Jim cried, squirming away from Spock. "No!" he yelled, stumbling blindly, attempting to run. "Aliens. No. The aliens are coming," he screamed, trying to get away as Spock looped one of his arms around the drunken boy's waist and dragged him in the direction of the dormitories.

"No. Help me. I'm being abducted. Help!" Jim continued to scream, his voice echoing over the grounds as Spock willed for him to be quiet.

"Jim, be silent. You are not being abducted," Spock implored his screaming friend.

" _Aliens! The aliens are invading!_ "

Lights were beginning to be turned on in some of the windows and Spock looked down at Jim, who was babbling about the end of times. Clapping one of his hands over Jim's mouth, Spock managed to drag him into the dormitory wing and into the stairwell, where Jim sunk his teeth into Spock's restricting hand.

"You bit me, Jim," Spock said incredulously, pulling his hand away from Kirk's mouth, who immediately began to rant again, although this time with less volume.

With a great amount of difficulty, Spock safely transported Jim the remainder of the distance to Spock's room. Not knowing which room number Jim resided in; Spock had no choice but to bring the hysterical boy to his own dorm. He opened the door and tumbled inside, holding Jim upright at an awkward angle as he attempted to manoeuvre him onto the bed. Jim collapsed, face down, onto Spock's mattress and rolled around drunkenly, making it very difficult for Spock to remove his shoes. Once he had, however, Jim seemed to relax and discontinued his attempts to escape or cry for assistance. He rolled onto his back and rested his unfocused eyes on Spock, his breathing slowing to a more peaceful tempo. Slowly, one after the other, Jim's cerulean eyes closed as he drifted to sleep. Spock got up and began to move around the room, removing Jim's jeans from his legs and laying a thick quilt over the sleeping Human, before readying himself for bed also. Spock climbed into the bed beside Jim and lay his head down in a bid to sleep. A task that was slightly difficult by his painful awareness of the blonde, blue-eyed boy that was dreaming deeply next to him. Spock turned on his side and let his eyes fall closed, attempting to relax his body.

He was nearing the cusp of sleep when he heard Jim mutter something. He said it once and then again, louder and more clearly: "Spock."

Spock lifted his head and turned to look at Kirk, assuming that he had awoken, but saw that his eyes remained closed and the slack, peaceful look of sleep was still drawn over his face.

"Spock," Jim said softly once more before rolling over and beginning to drool.

Pondering the implications of what had just transpired, Spock too allowed himself to be drawn under by his weariness, his last thought was of Jim before he sunk into the folds of his dreams.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter's such a little bitch. ;)

Jim was still fast asleep when Spock awoke the next morning. As it was a Saturday, there was no need for them to be anywhere that day. This resulted in Spock allowing himself to lay in bed and stare out of his window at the grounds as the sun rose slowly in sky. As the day progressed, the heavens transformed in colour from dusky oranges and pinks to a dull grey, clouds pervading the sky heavily.

By the time Spock's watch read 10:27, rain was pouring down outside the window and the dark purple of the clouds suggested that a thunderstorm was close on their heels. Spock was not perturbed by the thought. He had often gazed curiously at the lightning storms that sometimes struck near his home on Vulcan.

Jim did not wake until the first loud crack of thunder echoed across the sky. He sat bolt upright before becoming aware of his surroundings and falling back against the covers with a drawn out groan. He rolled over groggily and buried his head in Spock's shoulder, clearly unhappy with his newly gained consciousness.

"God," he moaned miserably into Spock's nightshirt. "I am  _so_  hungover." Spock felt him close his eyes and relax his muscles in an attempt to ease the pain that he was no doubt experiencing, as a result of his excessive alcohol intake on the previous night. Another, considerably louder thunderclap caused Kirk to squeeze his eyes shut even tighter and press his fingers to his temples.

"Oh fuck," he said, his voice hoarse. Spock, wishing to alleviate Jim's pain in anyway he could, withdrew gently from James' hold and rose from the bed, returning soon after with a glass of water.

"Here," he said putting the brim of the cup to Jim's dry, swollen lips. "Drink." Jim did so obediently, eyes still squeezed shut tight.

"Ugh," he said after a few gulps. "Got anything stronger?"

"I am not providing you with more alcohol if that is what you are suggesting James," Spock said firmly.

"Shhh," Jim said, extending his arm to rest his index finger on Spock's lips. "Too loud," he whispered, before limply dropping his hand. "If you won't get me booze," Jim said croakily, "at least get me a bucket load of some sort of pills." Spock, not having need of any medication, contained no such pills in his possession.

"Jim-" he began, attempting to inform Kirk of his inability to fulfil the request.

"In your bed side table," Jim said, cutting him off.

Puzzled, Spock looked over at the small table. It was just how he had left it. Slowly he reached over and pulled out the first little draw, which had been empty since he had taken up residence in the room. Inside now sat three small cardboard containers, all of which had information about the medicine they carried written on the side of the box. Spock fished them from the draw and looked at Jim quizzically.

"I took the initiative of putting those there last night, when I was rejecting your terrible clothes. Figured one of us would thank me later. Turns out I was right."

Jim took the boxes from Spock's hand, took one pill from each container and placed them in his mouth before chasing them down with a swig of water. He looked dejectedly at the boxes and shrugged, taking out three more and swallowing those too.

"I am not certain that is wise," Spock said as he observed Jim finish the glass of water to aid in taking the pills.

"Nothing I do is wise Spock, you ought to know that by now," Kirk replied groggily, setting the empty glass down beside the bed and handing the pills back to Spock. Spock considered what Jim had said and was inclined to agree.

"Do you wish to travel to the cafeteria in order to ingest sustenance?" Spock asked of Jim after a time.

"No," Jim said into his pillow.

"Do you not require nourishment?" Spock asked.

"Yes, I do," Jim said, still talking to the pillow.

"And I assume you are not starved enough to summon the motivation required to assist yourself in overcoming your hunger," Spock asked.

"Too many words."

"Roughly translated, I asked you if you were too lazy to get food," Spock explained, feeling unsettled at using Jim's vernacular.

"Food good. Movement bad," Jim said, not offering anything else in answer to Spock's question. Not wishing Jim to go on being hungry simply as a result of his refusal to get out of bed, Spock got to his feet and began getting dressed. He turned to see that Jim was nearing the brink of unconsciousness once more and declined to disturb him.

Quietly, he slipped from the room and made his way down to the cafeteria. There he found Uhura and Leonard. They were sitting close together, though they did not appear to be talking to one another. Nyota was wearing large sunglasses that eclipsed most of her face and her companion appeared even more haggard and surly than was usual. Spock regarded that as saying something substantial.

After obtaining two plates and filling them with an assortment of breakfast foods, he wandered over to the two.

"Hi Spock," Nyota said, her voice quiet and slightly strained as she gulped down water from a two litre bottle that was resting next to her.

"Hungover too, eh?" McCoy asked, seeming to be exhausted.

"No, alcohol does not affect Vulcans as it does humans. And regardless, I did not consume any last night," Spock explained.

"Lucky bastard," the boy grumbled. "Oh, by the way, when we got to the room last night, Jim wasn't there. Is he with you?" Leonard queried, sounding slightly worried.

"Yes," Spock confirmed, "as I did not know the number of your room and James was in no state to provide me with the information, he spent the night in my room."

"Ok then," McCoy said, his concerns quelled. The conversation had clearly come to an end, so Spock bid the two goodbye and returned to his room, bearing the tray of food.

He opened the door and found Jim half fallen from the bed. His legs were spread across the sheets and the upper half of his body was hanging from the mattress, fingers trailing the ground as he breathed deeply. Spock strode across the room and set the food down on his desk, the sound of his entrance waking Jim. The boy opened his eyes groggily and seemed to take a while to become fully conscious and responsive. When he looked over at Spock, a relaxed smile fell across his face. He still seemed to have limited motor control, however, as he remained in the seemingly uncomfortable position of being half extricated from the bed. Spock walked over to him and helped him to sit, before placing the loaded tray of food onto his lap.

"Eat," Spock commanded, taking a seat next to Jim on the bed and spearing pieces of food with a fork of his own. Jim looked slightly surprised by the direct order, unaccustomed to doing as he was told. However, James did not question the command and began to eat the food that Spock had placed in front of him.

"How do you intend to occupy yourself today?" Spock asked after the food had been entirely consumed and the plates set aside. Jim looked pointedly from Spock to the downpour outside the window.

"I gonna go to an outdoor rock concert, obviously," Jim said dryly, "perhaps go on a rollercoaster too, should help settle my stomach."

"There is no need to use sarcasm James. I was merely giving you the opportunity to inform me on your plans for the rest of the day," Spock said.

"Right, well, I have  _no idea_  what you just said. My brain is closed for business today, but I'm gonna guess it was something contrary and annoying," Jim said tiredly. "So, with that in mind, to answer your earlier question: today I plan to stay in bed and never get out, ever. And you can't make me," Jim said the last part rather fast paced and petulantly. Spock smiled lightly at the boy's expression.

"Considering my increased strength and your disadvantaged state," Spock said, "I am sure that I, in fact, could make you. If I so desired." Jim didn't look worried by the thought.

"Ok, Spock," Jim smiled, burying deeper into the bed and bringing the covers up over his head, "give it your best shot."

"You possess the maturity of a young Terran child, James Kirk," Spock said, pulling the covers away from Jim's face with ease, in order to look down into his wide eyes.

"Do not," Jim said and stuck out his tongue at Spock. Spock shook his head in mild exasperation.

"You are certainly a unique specimen of the human race," He remarked, causing Jim to laugh.

"Shut up baby, I know it," he replied confidently, his smile wide. Spock never found himself tiring of looking at Jim's smile.

The two of them spent the rest of the day in bed, periodically sleeping and conversing about varying subjects. The breakfast they had eaten had been exceedingly large and as a result, the boys did not find themselves hungry again until it was late in the afternoon and dinnertime was drawing near.

Kirk was still suffering from his hangover, having drunk quite a lot, though his pain had eased substantially over time and he longer responded in sentences devoid of conjunctive words. Soon the promise of a meal had the two out of bed and getting ready. Jim pulled his heavy denim jeans on over his boxer shorts and tugged one of Spock's sweaters over his head, the Vulcan studiously averting his gaze as Kirk changed.

They made their way down to the cafeteria slowly, Jim's movements stiff as he walked. This caused Spock to retain a firm grip on his arm, though James insisted it was unnecessary.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, soaked from the rain outside, dinner was already in full swing. Students with dripping wet hair were shaking their heads like dogs in attempts to splatter their friends. Girls sat, wringing out their clothes, creating small puddles on the floor. The weather outside seemed to have everyone in a mood of camaraderie and spirits were high as more and more people came pouring inside in a bid to escape the relentless rain. Spock and Jim made their way over to their table where most of their group was already seated.

Spock noticed that again, Nyota and Leonard were sitting next to each other in what appeared to be a comfortable silence. Most of the people present, having drunk multitudes of alcohol the night before, were abstaining from conversation. All except for Pavel, who was animatedly chattering about warp core stability to an extremely tired looking Scotty.

"Goddammit man," voiced McCoy after a while of listening to Chekov's incessant talking. "How're you not bloody hungover like the rest of us? You must've drunk almost twice as much as me and I feel like my head is about to explode right now."

"Bones, your head is always about to explode," said Hikaru tiredly, he sounded very worn out and had a beanie pulled down over his face.

"He's Russian," Scotty said, raising his head slightly, enough for Spock to see the prominent bags under his eyes. "What do ye expect?" Jim laughed hoarsely at this comment but added nothing further before returning to his food.

A student Spock recognised as the boy Peter from detention passed their table then and stopped at Leonard's shoulder.

"Wow," he said loudly, causing a number of the party to wince slightly. "This table, quiet? Why, I  _never._  How on earth did this miracle come to pass? I don't think I can recall having _ever_  been able to eat a meal without constantly hearing Jim Kirk's whiny, obnoxious voice."

"Oh, fuck off, Percy," Jim said, voice strained with effort.

Spock leaned in, "his name is Peter," he murmured in Kirk's ear.

"Fuck off, Peter," Jim amended, unfazed by his mistake.

"Yeah, get your ugly face to the other side of the room, where your stuck up friends who pretend to like you are," McCoy grumbled, not turning to look at the intruder.

"McCoy, isn't it?" Peter said, a smirk on his face. "Aren't you the one who has a mysterious object of unknown origin permanently lodged up your ass?" He laughed pompously at his own joke. Kirk, who looked furious, began to speak in his friend's defence.

"Now, listen here, you little bitch-" he began, before Nyota was on her feet and staring down the boy, a furious expression twisted her features, causing her to look genuinely frightening.

"How would you like my  _shoe_  lodged permanently up  _your_  ass?" she asked menacingly, her voice raised louder than Spock had ever heard the level headed girl speak before. Peter was making a visible effort to maintain his nonchalant exterior.

"Getting your girlfriend to fight your battles for you? Very brave McCoy," Peter taunted at the back of Leonard's head. Bones, Spock noticed, appeared to be supremely unperturbed by the entire situation.

"Seeing as you pose no threat to us whatsoever, except that which you pose upon our patience, talking to you requires no bravery at all, rendering your sarcastic insult both inconsequential and poorly reflective of your own intelligence," Spock pointed out evenly, looking into the eyes of the older boy and feeling a strange dislike towards him: something that Spock was aware he should have more control over.

Jim burst out into laughter at Spock's comment and while Nyota still faced Peter threateningly, the corners of her mouth had turned up slightly. Peter himself appeared to be simply bewildered by Spock's statement, evidently having not entirely grasped its meaning.

"In truth, though I have not seen his bravery tested first hand, I believe Leonard to be one of the most hardened people I have encountered and, by my estimations, it is extremely likely that you would succumb to fear before most at this table and certainly  _long_  before McCoy." Across from Spock, Bones raised his head to regard the Vulcan with an expression akin to surprise and gratitude.

Nyota looked fondly down upon McCoy's brown haired head, before shoving her palm into Peter's chest. As he stumbled backwards, shocked, she stepped forward, bearing down upon him.

"Now, listen here you little bitch," she said, repeating Jim's words. "I could stand here and tell you about how Bones is ten times the person you could ever be, or how Jim's voice isn't a fraction as whiny and obnoxious as yours, but I'm pretty sure Spock already covered all of that when he verbally kicked your ass just then. So instead I'll just say this: fuck off, before I  _physically_  kick your ass." Peter had the sense, then, to be truly worried. He cast one last accusing glare at the company before turning, rather dramatically, on his heels and marching to the other side of the room where he joined his table, looking extremely ashen faced.

Uhura looked angrily after him before sitting down and rubbing her forehead. "Great, that dick gave me a headache. I was just starting to feel better," she said rather forlornly and continued to eat her food.

"What a little bitch," Jim said, squinting his eyes in the direction Peter had walked.

"I find I must concur with that statement," Spock said coldly.

Jim looked disbelievingly at the Vulcan, but appeared to either be too tired or grateful to comment on what Spock had said. Following the altercation, everyone once again held their eyes downcast, still feeling the effects of their hangovers. Chekov, of course, being the only exception. He continued to talk merrily to members of the group, grunts and murmurs being the only response he received.

Gaila was absent from dinner that night on account of the fact that she was probably the worst affected of their party. She had drank parallel to what Jim had consumed and did not possess nearly the same level of alcohol tolerance. Nyota told Spock of how she had been extremely sick all day: weak and vomiting violently.

After witnessing the reactions of his classmates to alcohol, Spock was left to wonder why one would willingly ingest such a substance, knowing full well the horrible ramifications. When he posed the question to Jim he had simply been told, "Human's are idiots, Spock. When you drink, you borrow happiness from tomorrow," Spock had countered that Jim had not been particularly happy when he was intoxicated, "yeah well," Kirk had said, "I'm an idiot too."


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter is coming. ;)

The winter holidays were drawing near and the days grew both colder and shorter. Spock would walk out of the dormitory wing in the mornings to find the grass covered in white frost from the night before. Since the party and what was becoming known by the group as the great hangover of 2250, Jim and Spock had found themselves more frequently in each other's company. Kirk continued to sit behind Spock in every class and would often join him and Uhura when they studied, although, as of late, it had been too cold to sit outside, under their maple tree. Instead their small group had taken to residing in the library after their lessons had concluded. Spock and Nyota would study devotedly, while the majority of the others would alternate between studying half-heartedly, trying to coerce Jim out of doing stupid things that would get him in trouble, and laughing when they failed and he had to be escorted from the building.

Surprisingly, the promise that Jim had made, all those weeks ago in the cafeteria, had stuck. Though his childish antics had continued, Spock had never again been in the yolk of what happened. Spock, though he was never affected by the strange occurrences, found an unusual sense of amusement that he could not quell when he viewed the effects of Jim's pranks. One frostbitten Wednesday, Jim strode into lunch in an exceptionally good mood. Which, going by Jim's usual standard of being permanently gleeful, was quite extreme. He sat down next to Spock at the table and looped his arm over the Vulcan's neck.

"Hey, Pointy," he greeted merrily, grin stretching from ear to ear.

"What are you so happy about?" Bones asked sullenly from his seat, where he looked angrier than usual. His cheeks and nose were bright red. "I hate the goddamn cold," he added, casting a resentful look at the frosted glass doors as if they had deeply offended him.

"Oh, nothing, Bones," Jim said, his tone contradictory to his words. Just then a movement at the far end of the room caught Spock's eye. A boy, wearing a scarf and beanie was extricating himself from a crowd that seemed to be gathering around him and was walking in their direction. As the boy neared them, Spock recognised it to be Peter, the senior that they had been at odds with for quite some time. James began to snigger quietly, his body shaking in his seat as he attempted to stop himself from laughing out loud.

"Well, look who it is," he managed to say before resuming chuckling.

"James, what, precisely, have you done to warrant such a reaction?" Spock asked of his friend, concern in his voice. Jim only laughed harder.

"Here we go," McCoy said and turned to face the furious boy as he reached their table.

" _Kirk!"_ Peter yelled, face purple with rage. Jim looked up at him innocently.

"Peter,  _hii._  What's wrong?" he asked, eyes wide, a look of concern on his face that Spock might have considered real, had he never encountered Jim Kirk previous to seeing it.

"You little cunt, Kirk! You little shit!" Peter roared, voice escalating in volume. He reached his hand up and whipped the beanie from his head. He was completely bald.

Bones burst out laughing, something Spock had never seen him do before. "Holy shit, you're bald," he said, tears streaming down his face. James, too, could no longer contain himself and began to wheeze, gasping desperately for breath as he looked up at Peter's bared head. Spock found himself suppressing a smile.

It was at the moment that Nyota arrived at the cafeteria for lunch and walked over to them. She took one glance at Peter, connected the dots, and burst into laughter alongside Kirk and McCoy.

"Oh," she gasped. "Oh, wow."

"Kirk. You did this, I  _know_  you did this. You're going to pay for this, you piece of shit." Jim began pounding his fist heavily on the table.

"Stop," he gasped, face wet with tears. "I'm gonna piss myself."

At this McCoy and Uhura laughed even harder. Peter, realising that there was no way in which he could stop Kirk from laughing long enough to threaten him in a way that wasn't completely embarrassing, glared at them all murderously and stormed away. By this time, most of the people in the room were laughing and some, like James and Leonard, were in complete hysterics. It appeared that Peter was not widely liked among the school community.

Peter's foretold revenge arrived later that day in the form of angry call that he had had his parents make to Professor Jameson about his lack of hair. It was rumoured that although Jameson had been courteous and amiable while talking to Peter's parents, he too had laughed a small amount once the call had been ended. Following which, he promptly told Peter that there was no proof of Jim Kirk's involvement and that Peter should learn to deal with his problems maturely, instead of calling his parents to do it for him.

"Basically he told him to grow a pair and get the fuck out of his office," Jim concluded relating the story to them that night at dinner, laughing as he did so.

"Good advice," Uhura said, nodding in approval. "Although, I'm not exactly sure how that pussy's gonna grow a dick." This caused Jim to laugh so hard that he fell from his seat and landed on the floor under the table, knocking his head as he did so. He stayed down there for a while, unable to control his limbs due to his cackling. They heard his struggled chokes of breath and gasps for a time, before he could compose himself enough to rise from the floor.

"Have you ceased your pointless display?" asked Spock, as his friend emerged, red faced and beaming from under the table.

"Not even close," Jim said and continued to chuckle at random junctures throughout the meal, regaining composure for a time before the laughter gripped him again.

"There's something wrong with your friend," Nyota said to Bones, looking suspiciously at James as he relapsed once again.

"Yeah, I think something broke in the mainframe," Bones said grimly, rubbing his jaw. "I'm taking it back to the shop tomorrow. Getting the newer model. Apparently they've cleared up the bugs so the new one won't be so annoying."

"Well that's a relief," said Uhura, smiling at McCoy.

"So, ar' ye two together or wha'?" asked Scotty, who too had noticed their recent behaviour. Uhura and McCoy looked taken aback by the question and seemed not to know what to say in response.

"Obviously, they are," said Kirk. "Didn't you see them all over each other at that party?" he asked, looking around the table. Nyota's face had darkened with embarrassment and McCoy was looking distinctly pink.

"Ugh, I'm living with the blind," Jim said when no one responded.

"It is neither kind nor logical to interfere in the business of others if we can not edit the circumstances positively," Spock said calmly to Kirk, cautioning him to stop talking. Nyota threw him a thankful glance. Jim, seeming to heed Spock's words, promptly changed the subject by standing on his seat, cupping his hands to his mouth and yelling across the room.

"Yo, Peter! I love your new look, you gotta get me the name of your stylist." Face encompassed by a smile once again, Jim threw a glance over his shoulder before saying "shit, bye!" and dashing, laughing, from the room, pursued at a sprint by an enraged, hairless Peter.

The next day consisted of Kirk both taunting and running from Peter, who, being of lesser intelligence and athleticism than his prey, never managed to exact the revenge that he had sworn would be his.

The day after that was a Friday, and it was not only Kirk whose spirits were soaring. Everyone was looking forward to the weekend and the promise of Winter break drawing ever closer that it brought. Only three weeks until the end of the semester and the much needed holidays. Even Spock, whose plans were to travel back to Vulcan, felt a certain anticipation about returning home that was not altogether bad.

Classes had concluded for the day, culminating in a rather interesting Health lesson in which Jim simply _had_ to know the varying ways in which to fornicate interspecially. Spock was unsure whether it was Jim's insistence on pursuing the subject, or his offer to play an explanatory video for the class that got him sent from the room, although he suspected it was the latter. Afterwards they studied in the library, per their custom, although Jim had taken Spock's hand a time before they were required at dinner and had pulled him from the room.

"What is it you require, Jim?" Spock asked as Jim led him through multiple hallways.

"Let's get out of here. I'm sick of cafeteria food, c'mon." Jim and Spock exited through a door that the Vulcan was unaware of previously and found themselves at the edge of the grounds, a side gate hung open near them.

"Jim, you are aware of my position when breaking school rules," Spock said, halting and refusing to be dragged further by the excited blonde boy.

"Yeah," Jim said, pulling on his hand. "You're a goody-goody, I know. But you'll break the rules for me, Spock. You've done it before. Where is the  _logic_  in taking a moral stand against something you've already done?"

"It is called learning from and amending one's mistakes," Spock replied evenly, causing Jim to roll his eyes.

"Come on, you Hobgoblin. Don't make me give you the look," Jim said threateningly.

"What 'look' are you referring to?" Spock asked, confused. Jim suddenly dropped Spock's hand and took a step closer, minimising the distance between them until it was almost nothing. He cast his blue eyes up into Spock's brown ones. They were wide and filled with innocence.

"Please Spock. Please, please, please," he said, widening his eyes further. Spock sighed in defeat: it was an effective look. Clapping joyously and laughing, Jim took hold of Spock's hand once more and dragged him through the gate.

They walked for a long time, weaving through streets and alleys until Spock was certain that their direction was entirely aimless and that both of them were completely unaware of their current location.

"Jim-" He began,

"We're _not_  lost, Spock. Have a little faith, okay?" Jim assured him and led him down another series of streets. Spock had opened his mouth to voice his concerns once again when Jim loudly said,

"Tah-dah." They were standing at the mouth of a small cobblestone street, just wide enough for a single car to pass down, though none did. The street was filled with restaurants. Every building in the lane appeared to be a food related establishment of some sort. They all had outdoor seating set up in the middle of the road and the tables of each restaurant spilled into one another. There were trees planted along the road at regular intervals that were strung with fairy lights. The street was filled with people, eating and drinking. Music echoed from one of the restaurants and it was loud enough to fill the air and enhance the atmosphere.

"I found this place by accident, once when I was ditching," Jim said proudly. "I like to come here sometimes when I get tired of the cafeteria food. They've got all sorts," he explained, gesturing at the restaurants, "French, Italian, Indian, Steak, mmm I love me a good steak. I think they've got a vegan place too. You know; for your treehuggin' diet." Before Spock could respond, perhaps comment on the 'tree hugging' remark, Jim had walked forward and taken a seat at one of the tables.

"Which restaurant does this belong to?" Spock asked as he sat down.

"No idea," said Jim, "but they're usually cool about letting you order from the other places." In the end, Jim decided to order a T-bone from the steakhouse, soup from the French restaurant and fries from the diner. Spock, on the other hand, had ordered an assortment of vegetarian noodles from the Chinese restaurant. When the meals came, Spock was not able to suppress a smile.

"What?" Jim asked, looking baffled by Spock's rare show of emotion.

"The pumpkin soup." Spock said, motioning at the dish. "I am unable to look at it without recalling the 'food fight' that you started on my first day and the pumpkin soup that was splattered all over your shirt as a result."

"You remember what kind of  _foods_  I was wearing?" Jim asked.

"Affirmative." Spock confirmed, as Jim began to chuckle lightly.

"And you're not going to make up some bullshit excuse as to how you remember that? Like your ' _Vulcan memory.'_ " he said, using his fingers as quotations marks.

"While it is true that Vulcans practice in memorization and pattern recognition, no, I do not presume that that is the reason I remember the particular types of food that covered your shirt that day." Spock said calmly, looking into Jim's smiling blue eyes.

"Why, Spock," Jim gasped, putting the back of his hand to his forehead and pretending to swoon, "I didn't think you cared."

"Are you aware that you dramatise everything?" Spock said to Jim, a light smile playing at his lips.

"I do nothing of the sort," Jim said obstinately. "How dare you accuse me of such a heinous act? How dare you, sir?" Spock shook his head in exasperation. "The nerve of some people." Jim said to himself, angrily.

"You are truly a complex being, Jim," Spock remarked, smiling beside himself.

"You smile more lately, you know that?" said Jim ponderously, appearing to be serious for a change.

"Perhaps it is your negative influence that has affected me so," Spock replied evenly, being careful to keep his face devoid of expression, while Jim's realigned into his wide smile, which Spock was beginning to suspect, was how the boy's face was naturally set.

"What negative influence? I'm amazing."

"Indeed."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Penultimate chapter. ;)

They were halfway through their meals when they were interrupted.

"Jim?" a feminine voice called out in recognition. The two turned their heads to see a pretty red head weaving through the mass of tables toward them.

"Is that not -" Spock began.

"The girl from the party?" Jim concluded, affirming Spock's suspicion, "yeah." Spock's mouth set itself into a hard line.

"Hey," the girl cooed as she reached their table, taking one of Jim's fries between her fingers and biting into it.

"Hi, Megan," Jim said, looking up at the girl, his face slightly uncomfortable. It was the first time that Spock had ever witnessed Jim looking anything less than completely confident and self-assured.

"What're you doing here?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm just out for dinner with the girls. Its tequila night at the bar, if you can keep down four, the fifth shot's free," she said, excitedly.

"That sounds like fun," Jim said, smiling forcefully. The expression looked unnatural and twisted on his face. Spock, so used to seeing Jim's open, innocent happiness, intensely disliked the expression he wore now and the girl that had put it there.

"Yeah it will be. I mean we all know how well me and alcohol mix right?" She giggled at the thought. "Speaking of, I had a great time at the party the other night," she said in a high pitched voice that sounded extremely false. "So, here's my number," she added, bending over to scrawl something on his hand. "Call me ok? I'd love to hang out sometime," she bit her lip nervously and flashed them both a wide, un-Jim like smile, before turning away and rejoining her friends.

A stale silence followed her departure. Eventually Spock broke the quiet.

"It appears that you have a very refined taste in women, Jim."

"Careful now, Spock, if you get anymore sarcastic, you'll lose your status as a Hobgoblin," Jim told him teasingly, though Spock could ascertain that his heart wasn't in it. Jim sighed, looking into Spock's less than pleased face. "What?" he asked, defensive.

"I am unaware of what you are asking me, Jim," Spock replied curtly.

"Are you mad?" Kirk asked, slightly incredulous.

"I am not feeling any emotion at the current time, James. Anger is an illogical response," Spock said.

"Oh god, you are mad," Jim groaned putting his hand to his face, "look, I was really drunk that night and so was she. It was just a casual thing."

"As I am not 'mad' I am unaware of why you are attempting to explain your actions to me."

"Spock, stop pretending to be an emotionless robot, goddammit. You're so bloody stubborn. Just fucking talk to me. Say what you really mean. I thought Vulcans couldn't lie."

"Perhaps it would be wisest to conclude our meal at this point, pay for our dinner and return to school," Spock suggested calmly, ignoring what Jim had said.

"Fine," said Jim, "go pay, throw your little Vulcan tantrum. I'm full anyway." Spock stood from the table and swiftly made his way into four different restaurants to pay for each item. He then returned to the street where he saw Jim had already traversed a substantial distance. He caught up with him easily and fell into step beside the angry Human.

"Jim, you are acting extremely immaturely," Spock muttered as Kirk avoided his gaze.

"Thats rich!" he snorted derisively, "at least I say what I mean and not some convoluted thesaurused bullshit version of what I really want to say." Spock pursed his lips together at the insult, electing not to respond and fuel Jim's anger further.

They walked in silence until they reached the school. Seeing as everybody was either attending dinner or in their dorm rooms, the campus felt eerily quiet. They entered the dormitory wing and began travelling down the various passageways. Suddenly Jim broke the strained quiet.

"You know what? Yes, fine, Spock, I  _am_  immature. I'm fucking seventeen for god's sake of  _course_  I'm immature. But you are too. You're just  _fancy_  immature with your stuck up vocabulary and Vulcan excuses."

"If you are so offended by my Vulcan nature that you insist on insulting it so frequently, why do you to keep me in your company?" Spock asked, exasperation in his voice, which was slightly raised. The lack of control was slightly alarming to Spock.

"Because!" Jim roared.

"Because?" Spock pressed, the volume in his voice escalating.

"Because, fuck it-" Jim said quickly, grasping Spock's face between his hands and bringing the Vulcan's lips down to his own. It was chaste at first. Nothing more than a mere press of Jim's lips against his, and both of them remained perfectly still for a moment. Before Spock could fully register what had occurred, Jim was pulling away.

He gazed up at the Vulcan, expression reminiscent of a Terran mammal when caught in the illumination emitted from the headlights of a motor vehicle. The hand that had somehow found it's way onto Jim's shoulder slipped away, Kirk stepped back, dejected.

Spock knew the look in Jim's eyes, and he believed Kirk would not let such an opportunity arise again unless the Vulcan took action. To use a human phrase Spock believed it was 'now or never'.

He fisted his hands in Jim's shirt and pulled him closer, crushing their lips together, suddenly desperate.

Kirk, having recovered from the initial surprise, began to shift against Spock, moving his lips more intently, kiss no longer delicate. Spock reciprocated eagerly, almost moaning when Jim traced his tongue over the Vulcan's lips. He was unable to contain a gasp, opening his mouth as the blonde bit down sharply on his bottom lip. Jim jumped at the chance to slip his tongue into Spock's warm cavern, invading his mouth and nipping at his soft lips. The heat produced was thick and engulfing. The Vulcan responded in turn, languidly dragging his tongue across Kirk's and inciting a battle for dominance that Jim soon won, Spock having no prior knowledge of such intimate affairs.

James pushed him back until he hit the wall, pressing himself bodily to Spock, the blonde was already half-hard against Spock's own arousal. Jim began grinding their pelvises together, gasping out Spock's name as he did so and the Vulcan allowed his head to fall back to the wall in reaction to the obscene motions of Jim's hips.

Spock brought their lips together, tangling his hands in James' unruly, blonde hair and running one hand down the expanse of Jim's firm chest, fiddling with the hem of his shirt. Kirk broke the kiss beaming; cocky grin once again plastered to his face, and removed his top. Slowly. Teasingly slowly, in fact, and Spock may have growled at the unnecessary display.

"Did you just growl?" Jim questioned, incredulous and looped his arms around Spock's neck.

"Be silent," Spock responded, upholding the request for James' quiet with a kiss, searing his lips to the blonde's again. After a time, Kirk pulled back, gazing at Spock, both boys panting from the exchange.

"If I had known this was all it took to get an emotional response from you," Jim began, breathless, "I would have done it a  _long_  time ago."

"If you wish to continue this interaction, it would be logical to proceed to my dormitory," Spock suggested, ignoring Kirk's previous remark.

"I  _like_ how you think, Spock," Jim smirked as he intertwined his fingers with the Vulcan's and began pulling them down the corridor. The act sent a tremor through Spock, his hands being particularly sensitive. "Number 73, right?" Kirk asked, as they reached the said door.

"Affirmative," Spock confirmed before being unceremoniously shoved into his dormitory, a tongue promptly thrust down his throat, although he wasn't averse to such an action.

He found himself pressed against a wall once more as Kirk began trailing his tongue over Spock's collarbone, biting down at the juncture of his shoulder and neck, suckling there for a moment as his hands busied themselves with Spock's shirt, unbuttoning it clumsily and dragging his palms over the now exposed skin.

The Vulcan grabbed at Jim's shoulders flinging him across the room, until the back of his knees hit the edge of Spock's bed. Kirk tumbled backwards ungracefully, sprawling himself out on the bed as Spock climbed on top of him, straddling the Human's thighs and reuniting their lips, tongue plundering James' mouth, kiss wet and demanding.

Jim moaned loudly as Spock began dragging his lips over the tanned chest beneath him, stopping to lap at a swollen nipple, before continuing downward. When he reached Kirk's crotch, he deftly unfastening the zipper of the boy's jeans and pulling them down to where Jim could kick them off, and he heard them land on the ground with a light  _thud_. Spock then trailed his hands along the length of Jim's thighs, the Human made an impatient sound at the action, his anticipation almost palpable. Spock fingered the band of Jim's boxers, regarding the visible tent in the fabric as he did so. James raised his hips from the bed slightly, encouraging Spock to remove the offending item of clothing, Spock obliged, to Jim's visible delight, sliding the boxers off slowly, to reveal Jim's stiff erection, cock already hard and leaking.

Spock looked up to observe Jim's face. James stared back into his eyes, swallowed visibly and gave Spock a half-smile, before throwing his head back in a gasp as Spock warily took the aching length into his mouth.

"Fuck, Spock," he exclaimed breathlessly, as the Vulcan swirled his tongue around the head of Jim's shaft. Spock lowered his head further, steadily taking in all of James' member, mindful of his teeth, until it was engulfed in a feverish heat. He then retracted slightly, dragging his tongue along the underside of the rigid cock within his mouth before lowering his head once more, repeating the action with a bobbing movement until he found a rhythm, unintelligible moans falling from Jim's lips as he did so.

Spock felt hands threading through his hair and Kirk tugged lightly, the Vulcan moaning around Jim's length in response. Jim lifted his hips from the mattress, attempting to thrust up into Spock's mouth, a movement that the Vulcan prevented, pressing Kirk back into the bed firmly, continuing with his motion. Jim gasped in shock as Spock inserted one of his fingers into the boy's opening slowly stretching him. He soon added another moving them in a scissoring motion, all the while still running his tongue over Jim's cock.

"God, Spock." Jim said, writhing beneath him, continuing to pull on the Vulcan's hair. When the movement became more insistent, Spock looked up, releasing the slick cock from his mouth and removing his fingers from Kirk's hole to slide up the bed. Now at eye level with James, who brought their heads close, resting their foreheads together and gazing into Spock's eyes, brown meeting blue.

"I want you in me," he whispered before pressing his lips to Spock's again, searing their mouths together. Suddenly, Kirk was flipping them, clambering atop Spock, pushing him down into the mattress, trading their positions. He dragged his hands down to clumsily un-zip Spock's pants ripping them and his underwear from the Vulcan's body desperately.

"Well," Jim began, panting lightly, "guess that answers my question, then."

"To what are you referring, Jim?" Spock asked, voice only slightly less ruffled, both curious and impatient, though he wouldn't admit to either.

"You  _are_ green," Kirk declared, smirking, and Spock gasped as Jim took his throbbing member in his hand, squeezing lightly, cool hand sliding back and forth over the swollen cock. "Second draw," Jim said, breath heavy. Spock felt a question rise in his throat but he quietened it, instead he reached his hand across the mattress and opened the second draw of his bedside table. Inside there was a small tube.

"When exactly-" Spock began, an eyebrow arched.

"When do you think, dumbass? Just get it and give it to me,  _now_ ," Jim answered, angry in his impatience. Spock gave himself the smallest of moments to process that Jim had put lubricant in his draw all those weeks ago, the night of the party, before passing the necessary cosmetic to the Human. Jim hastily opened the tube and squirted an ample amount of the lotion on to his hands before grasping for Spock's shaft once more, lathering the member with slow pumps.

Once Kirk felt Spock's cock was reasonably coated in the substance, he moved to straddle the Vulcan's legs, raising his hips in order to steadily lower himself down onto Spock's cock, gradually sliding downward until the Vulcan's entire length was sheathed within him. Spock sighed as Jim moved forward slightly, placing his hands on either side of Spock's head and capturing the Vulcan's mouth with his own. Carefully, Jim lifted his hips and slipping back down again. Spock's eyes closing in contentment, Jim repeating the motion again and again, rocking atop the Vulcan. Each time he lifted off further, lowered himself faster, steadily finding a rhythm, until he was riding Spock demandingly, the Vulcan grabbing Jim's hips harshly, primal grunts falling from his mouth.

Messily, Jim pressed his lips to Spock's, open mouthed, his movements growing rougher, faster, more needy, until he was slamming down onto Spock, the Vulcan thrusting up erratically beneath him as Jim repeated the mantra of  _"fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck."_

Suddenly, Jim stopped, for a moment he ceased all movement before shudders began racking his body, "Spock," he cried as he came between them, the mess hot and sticky. Tensing in response to his release, Kirk grew tight around Spock, the added compression proving too much,

"Jim," Spock whispered, barely audible, grabbing the humans head and kissing the human as he came, riding out his orgasm with small upward movements. Jim allowed himself to collapse against his lover, gently nipping the tip of Spock's ear before he extricated himself, lying down next to the Vulcan, who pressed a chaste kiss to Jim's jawbone before gathering the human into his arms. They both took a minute for their breathing to return a normal pace before conversing.

"Wow," Jim said, smiling up at Spock. His head was resting on the Vulcan's chest and their legs were tangled together in the sheets. Spock looked down at him, feeling relaxed and content. Happy. Making no bid to conceal or control his emotions, he smiled languidly.

"I assume what just transpired means that you will, in fact, not be calling your friend Megan," Spock said, eyeing the black phone number scrawled across Jim's palm.

"Trust you to use big words after sex," Jim said, shaking his head, his good mood did not look depleted in the least. When Spock didn't respond, Jim too cast his gaze toward his hand. "I don't know..." he continued, doubtfully, "she was  _very_ flexible." Spock drew his eyebrows together before he heard Jim chuckle.

"Highly amusing," Spock said, reaching down, grasping Jim's wrist firmly and smudging the numbers with his fingers until they were unrecognisable. Jim smiled and made no move to pull his hand away. They lay there for a while, Spock playing idly with Jim's fingers, tracing patterns over his hands while Jim made small, humour filled attempts at conversation.

"Was that your first time?" Jim asked of Spock after a while, his voice softer and devoid of its usual teasing laughter.

"Yes," Spock confirmed looking down at the blonde, "I assume it was not yours." Spock smiled lightly, knowing Jim's reputation. Kirk laughed.

"God no," he said quietly. "But I'll tell you a secret," he murmured, "It was definitely the best. No competition."

"Not even the flexible redhead?" Spock questioned, slightly curious.

"Which one?" Jim asked, looking up to view Spock's unimpressed expression and laughing softly, before letting his head fall back to Spock's chest. "No Spock. Not her, not any of them. There's no competition, not even close."


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last official chapter, next is just the epilogue. ;)

Spock looked down at Jim. His eyes had closed a while ago and hadn't reopened. When Jim was asleep all of the pretence fell away from his face. His jaw was slack and the wicked humour was replaced with a peacefulness that Spock would never tire of witnessing. He cradled Jim against him and felt a sense of closeness that ran deeper than any physical sensation. He allowed himself to feel the full weight of his own happiness and was far more relaxed than he remembered being for a long time. Spock drifted to sleep, listening to the sound of Jim's breathing and feeling the pulse of his heart as they lay together.

"Morning," Jim greeted groggily as Spock's eyes opened on the day. The sun had risen high in the sky and the blue expanse stretched over them, absent of cloud but for the occasional wisp of white.

"What is the current time?" Spock asked, sleep pervading his voice. Jim took Spock's watch between his fingers and regarded it.

"Nearly ten," he said, allowing his head to fall back onto the bed. Spock almost scowled at the lack of specificity.

"I assume your plans for the day include 'never getting out of bed, ever,'" Spock said, a tone akin to fond teasing in his voice.

"That's right," Jim said, "and you can't make me." Spock smiled as Kirk poked his tongue out.

"Nor do I want to," Spock said catching Jim's tongue with his lips and kissing him softly.

"Ooh, I like the sound of that," Jim said smiling, his hand running down Spock's chest and feeling beneath the covers.

"James," Spock said, voice slightly strained, "while that sounds like a promising idea, the logical thing to do would be to seek out nourishment at this time." Jim sighed, disappointed.

"Fuck your logic," he said petulantly as Spock began to rise from the bed. Jim made no move to follow him, instead remaining amongst the covers as Spock began to dress.

"Now that I've seen you naked, seeing you clothed is just gonna be a letdown," Jim said, looking forlorn when Spock pulled on a shirt. "I mean, damn. Covering up what you've got going on there, that's got to be some sort of crime. A gross injustice to the people," Jim protested, his voice sounding political.

"Yes, I am sure 'the people' feel robbed," Spock said, throwing some clothes in Jim's direction for him to wear.

"Fuck the people,  _I_ feel robbed." Jim reluctantly pulled on the items that Spock had given him.

"You need to develop some patience James," Spock said, pulling him from the bed and planting a kiss firmly on his mouth.

"Patience is for those who either don't know what they want or don't know how to get it," Kirk argued, playing with the button of Spock's jeans. "I know both," Spock groaned at Jim's persistence.

"James, every organism in the known universe requires some form of sustenance to survive," Spock said, opening the door and pushing Jim out of it before following.

"Yeah every organism also requires to further the species through procreation. Who are we to defy Mother Nature?"

"If  _that_  is your argument, then your knowledge of Health is even worse than you suggested in our lessons." Spock said, smiling slightly. Kirk groaned in protest.

"Fuck that. I just wanna fuck you," he said.

"Do you plan to do so in the hallway?" Spock asked as he continued to herd Jim toward the cafeteria.

"Why not? It could be fun, having an audience. A little kinky."

"Such a situation is extremely unrealistic and the chances of it happening are 0.0 per cent," Spock said and Jim laughed.

"You're no fun," Kirk pouted.

"Jim, walk," Spock ordered, turning Jim in the direction of the cafeteria so that the blonde was no longer walking backwards.

"Fine," Jim said, sounding like a sullen child.

They entered the cafeteria and acquired their food, taking seats at their table where some of their social group were already sitting, eating their breakfast.

"Hey, you two," Said Uhura as they sat, "where were you last night, you left us in the library and you weren't at dinner."

"Probably off having sex or something," grumbled Bones, his tone indicating that he was not being serious. Spock, to his horror, felt blood rush furiously to his cheeks and ears, heating his face. He did not need Jim's suppressed chuckle or Nyota's questioning glance to tell him that he was bright green.

"You didn't," said Uhura disbelievingly, looking from Jim to Spock with wide, shocked eyes.

"In actuali-" Spock began, being cut off by Nyota's palm slamming up to cover her open mouth.

"No," she said through her fingers, eyebrows raised to her hairline. "Oh my god," she added.

"It was going to happen eventually," Bones said, continuing to eat. He looked, as he always did, both uninterested and unaffected by the conversation.

Gaila leaned over to high five Jim, mouthing 'nice work' as she did so and sending him a wink. Chekov was the only one who didn't seem to be paying attention to the conversation as he was attempting to explain to McCoy the mathematical formula behind transportational beaming.

"Goddammit man, I'm going to be a doctor not an engineer," Bones said, concluding the one-sided conversation. Without Chekov's chipper voice to fill the space, the rest of breakfast transpired in awkward silence, concluding suddenly when McCoy said, "they had sex, so bloody what? Jim's so horny I'm surprised it took them this long. Just keep it in his room, Scotty and I don't need to see that." The table, including Jim, laughed.

"I can't make any promises Bones," Kirk said teasingly and winked.

"You're never  _off_  are you?" Nyota said, her voice aimed at being exasperated but sounded more like amusement.

"Nope," Jim said, smiling wide.

The last three weeks of school passed by in a measure of happiness that Spock was unaccustomed with. It was as if he carried his good mood with him at all times and he had no doubts about the reason. Since the night they had begun their relationship, Jim and Spock were rarely seen out of each other's company. Kirk spent more nights sleeping in Spock's room than his own. Jim, too, Spock had noticed, seemed happier of late. He was no more cheerful than he had always been but he had changed slightly, his happiness appearing more pure and constant.

Spock, knowing that Jim was not going to return to his stepfather's home for the holidays, contacted his parents and asked for their permission for Jim to spend the Holidays on Vulcan, staying with him. His parents had agreed, seemingly content that Spock had been able to form a friendship with one of his human peers. When Spock had proposed the idea to Jim, the blonde had been ecstatic.

"I'm going to planet Hobgoblin," He had said excitedly, clapping his hands together, "I'm going to meet all your Hobgoblin friends." Spock had looked at him in fond exasperation, as he was prone to often doing.

"While we are at my home, I would appreciate it if you would abstain from referring to my kind as 'Hobgoblins,'" Spock had replied, worrying slightly about the taken aback reaction that his parents would have to Jim's blatant rudeness. To that Jim had only said, "Don't worry, Pointy, parents love me." Spock raised his eyebrow dubiously.

"Indeed," he said dryly, attempting not to smile.

The last day of school held a fever in the air that the teachers simply could not quell as they attempted to conduct their classes. Jim was reprimanded considerably more than usual on account of his excited, restless behaviour. Even Peter, who's hair still had not began to grow - what had Jim put in his shampoo? - was slightly less intolerable than usual as he made no efforts to either harass their social group or physically attack Jim. As the day drew to a close, Spock returned to his room to collect his packed bags and met Jim at the school gates, from where they travelled to the shuttle.

Spock's parents were already there, waiting to greet them. Sarek's work on earth having been completed, his parents were relocating back to Vulcan permanently. They expected Spock to remain on Vulcan also, having planned his enrolment at the Terran school to be temporary. However, Spock was preparing to ask them for their permission to complete his schooling on Earth, as he was unwilling to return to Vulcan permanently and leave his new home.

"Spock," Amanda exclaimed when she saw them, "I've missed you! How have you been?"

"Mother, father," Spock greeted his parents respectively, "I have been and remain adequate," he said in answer to his mother's question, before gesturing towards Jim. "This is my companion, James Kirk. James, this is my mother, Amanda, and my father, Ambassador Sarek," he explained.

"Pleasure to meet you, Amanda," Jim said, shaking her hand, before saluting his father in the Vulcan manner, which Spock had been teaching him. "Ambassador," he acknowledged with a nod, the Vulcan inclining his head slightly in response.

"It's so nice to meet one of Spock's friends," Amanda said warmly, walking towards the shuttle. "So, how's school been going, you two?' she asked.

"It is adequate," Spock answered just as Kirk said, "it's fine." Jim looked at Spock and grinned at their simultaneous response.

"That's nice," She said conversationally. They boarded the shuttle and took their seats preparing for the flight to Vulcan. Jim began talking to Amanda about Spock and asking questions about life on Vulcan from the perspective of a Human. Amanda seemed to be engaged in the conversation and was taking quickly to Jim. Perhaps she found him a refreshing change from the stoic Vulcan tendencies she had come to live by, Spock mused. Sarek and Spock, similar in many ways, social conduct being one of them, remained silent for the majority of the trip. It was more comfortable for Spock to be immersed in his own thoughts than to converse with others, even when the company of people was so familiar to him.

When they arrived on Vulcan, Spock could see that Jim was barely able to contain his excitement. The fact that he was attempting to exercise any self-control in the first place was a substantial rarity.  
"Hehe, Spock, we're on Planet Pointy," Jim whispered gleefully in Spock's ear.

"Do not refer to it as such during our time here, Jim, please," Spock murmured in return.

Jim ignored Spock's comment in favour of looking at everything. He tilted his head towards the sky, his mouth slightly open in awe. He then spun in a slow circle, drinking in every detail. Spock was always felt fondest towards Jim when he let his guard down to admire things.

"Jim," Spock said, touching Jim's elbow and indicating for the boy to follow him and his parents from the landing pad. The Human did so, albeit with a little guidance from Spock's hand to stop him from wandering in the complete wrong direction, as his eyes were fixed to the sky.

They arrived at Spock's house and unloaded their luggage, Spock carrying his bags to his bedroom and Jim's bags to the guest room. Spock had to admit that he was feeling a small quantity of remorse that Jim was sleeping in the guest bedroom.

"Woah, cool house," Jim remarked as he wandered down the halls, inserting his head into every room he came across and assessing it.

"It is rather standard Vulcan architecture," Spock said in response, causing Jim to roll his eyes.

"So," he said, grinning insinuatingly, "which one's your room?"

"Mine is the bedroom adjacent to the guest bedroom," Spock explained, attempting to remain logical while Jim was looking at him like that.

"You mean next to mine?" Jim clarified, smirking.

"Affirmative," Spock tried not to smile. Jim looked happy with the information.

"Got it," he said, not adding anything else. Spock felt moderately suspicious of Jim's quiet contemplation.

"Boys, dinner," Amanda called down the hall to them. Jim started out the door and led the way back to the dining room, looking excited at the prospect of food. They sat down to eat and Spock's mother set the dishes of food on the table. Jim, to his credit, ate everything enthusiastically, not mentioning the Vulcan diet and how it differed from his own. He even tried the plomeek soup, which he was wary of at first.

"So, Spock," Amanda said, turning to her son, "what are your plans for the duration of James' stay here on Vulcan?" she questioned.

"James' stay?" asked Kirk, a slight crease in his forehead, "you mean our stay?"

"No, James, I assumed Spock told you, we are not visiting Vulcan, this is a permanent relocation," Amanda explained, looking to Spock. "Didn't you tell him that you wouldn't be returning to Earth?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"I was meaning to inform him, however I failed to remember my intentions during our conversations." Jim narrowed his eyes accusingly.

"You're not coming back to Earth?" Jim asked, expression a mixture of anger, disbelief and hurt.

"It does not appear so, at this moment, no," Spock said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Jim.

The rest of dinner passed in relative silence. After the meal had concluded, Jim excused himself to wash up. Once he had departed, Spock decided to converse with his parents about the idea of him returning to Earth for the remainder of his schooling.

"Mother, Father, I wish to talk to you about the plans regarding my future education," Spock stated, obtaining their attention. "I am considering joining Starfleet after I have completed school and the prospect has become even more prioritised in my mind the more time I have spent on Earth," he explained. "Due to the fact that the Terran school I am currently enrolled in has a strong relationship with the Starfleet Academy and my inclination to attend said academy, the most logical course of action would be for me to continue my education at my school on Earth," he concluded, looking to his parents in order to gauge their reactions.

"If you wish to attend the Vulcan Science Academy you would do best to reconsider your request," Sarek said.

"I do not wish to attend the Vulcan Science Academy, Father," Spock replied.

"You may do as you will, however consider the ramifications of such a choice extensively. Once this decision is made, Spock, you will have no option to continue down the path you set for yourself." He left the room then, clearly having nothing further to add to the discussion. Spock's mother sat herself next to him and clutched his hand in her own.

"Is this truly what you want Spock?" Amanda asked, her eyes wide with concern for him. "I do not want you to make a decision that you will regret and I certainly do not want you to make a decision based on somebody else," she implored, meaning Jim.

"Mother, I promise you this is what I desire. I no longer hold any interest in attending the Vulcan Science Academy. My decision, as you have pointed out, does involve Jim. However, he is not the only, nor the most predominant reason for it."

"Well Spock, as I have told you before, whatever you choose to do, you will have a proud mother." She smiled warmly at him.

"Thank you, Mother," Spock said. He rose from his seat and left the room, content in his choice and feeling a peculiar sense of excitement and possibility for his future.

Jim's door was closed when Spock arrived at it. He knocked lightly and waited for Jim's slow and reluctant answer.

"You have a lot of nerve you kn-" Jim began, an expression of anger on his face.

"I am returning to Earth with you to complete my education," Spock stated, cutting him off.

"You. What? You're coming back?" he looked slightly disoriented.

"Yes, I am not staying on Vulcan," Spock explained, slowing his voice slightly for Jim to comprehend him.

Jim looked as though he were about to say something, however, before he could, a hand flew from the room and grasped Spock's shirt, hauling him through the doorway. Jim kissed him incautiously as he clumsily shut the door.

"Jim, my parents are in the house," Spock said as he broke away from Jim's lips.

"Then be quiet," Jim said, grinning dangerously. Sometimes his lack of boundaries worried Spock.


	11. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it! Complete! I'd just like to thank everyone who read this story, it means a lot so thank you all SO MUCH! Special thanks to those who commented, and left kudos n all that jazz! :D   
> And 'rosemanon' you commented ever chapter! Wow, thank you so much! 
> 
> And hey, if you want more spirk, check out this video I made: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIpU_kjUui4
> 
> ;)

**Epilogue**

"Home, sweet home," Jim said, putting his hands on his hips and smiling as he looked up at the school. Spock finished paying for their taxi.

"I find I must concur with that statement," He said and stood by Jim, looking at his new home. It truly did feel like home. Part of him even wished to see his other friends, having unexpectedly missed them.

The rest of their stay on Vulcan had consisted of sightseeing for Jim's benefit, shopping, also for Jim's benefit and having a lot of sex: which Spock liked to think was beneficial to both of them.

They carried their bags to their rooms, Jim leaving the majority of his possessions in Spock's dorm. They then walked down to the maple tree, the weather being quite clear and allowing them to do so.

As they sat under the tree, they saw their classmates walk past, many clutching suitcases, some bearing tans, all with stories on their lips of their adventures. Everyone was arriving back from break and greeting their friends, excitement was rife through the atmosphere and the sensation of reunion and homecoming was tangible in the air. At one point Jim and Spock witnessed Nyota and Leonard pass them, their hands were intertwined and they did not notice the two boys as they walked, clearly engaged in other interests.

When they saw a familiar bald head enter the school and walk to the dormitory building, Jim laughed audibly.

"How is it possible that Peter's hair has not yet grown back?" Spock asked curiously, feeling no sympathy for the boy. Jim chortled.

"Let's just say, when we come back here for our twenty year reunion, our friend Peter will still resemble a melon." Jim laughed. Spock smiled freely, he truly did not like Peter.

"I suppose that is favourable to resembling a hobgoblin," Spock reasoned, feeling his smile get away from him as it widened.

"Oh I don't know…" Jim mused, "I met this one hobgoblin once, he was the hottest guy I'd ever seen. I swear I jizzed my pants when I first saw him."

"You are extremely amusing James," Spock remarked, slightly facetiously.

"Not as amusing as Peter," Jim said, looking in the direction of the dorms, where Peter had just emerged, head adorned with a hat. Kirk chuckled.

"Twenty year reunion, you say?" Spock asked, following Jim's line of sight.

"You bet," Jim looked extremely self-satisfied.

"Vulcan does not entertain the concept of such things. I never presumed that I would have a twenty year reunion."

"Well you're gonna have one now," Jim replied. "You're not on Vulcan anymore. Sorry Spock, but Planet Pointy is gonna miss you for a little while longer," Jim said, gripping Spock's chin and pulling him downwards for a kiss. He paused, Jim's wide cerulean eyes meeting Spock's deep, brown ones, "'cause I'm never giving you back."


End file.
